Last Updated on December 21, 2022 by Omoyeni Adeniyi

Are you interested in going to colleges in Pennsylvania? If that’s the case, then how much do you know about them? All you have to do is read on to get the latest information on university of pennsylvania notable alumni in the article below.

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University Of Pennsylvania

What makes a college notable is its alumni. This is because they are the ones who have become successful after graduating from that school and they can help others who are still studying there by giving them advice on what they should do while they are there so they can succeed after graduation as well.

The list that we have provided below contains some of the most notable alumni from these colleges:

1) University Of Pennsylvania

2) Drexel University

3) University Of Pittsburgh

4) Penn State University

List of University Of Pennsylvania Notable Alumni

Instituted by Benjamin Franklin, University of Pennsylvania is amongst the nine colonial colleges to have been created before the announcement of freedom. Famously referred to as the Penn University, the University of Pennsylvania is a private Ivy League research institution which was chartered in the year 1755. Located in the University City neighborhood of Philadelphia, the university is recognized as one of the oldest institutions of advanced education in the USA.

Till November 2018, Penn University has a total strength of over 18,000 faculty and staff members. Apart from this, more than 319,000 students have graduated from the Penn University since its beginning, including heads of state, Supreme Court justices, and the United States Senators. In addition, some Nobel laureates, Guggenheim Fellows, and numbers of CEOs have been associated with the university.

University of Pennsylvania (PENN) – Notable UPenn Alumni
Penn State Notable Alumni – One of the top universities in the US, the University of Pennsylvania is the reckoning force behind some of the best minds. Famous PENN State Alumni include Anil Ambani; Donald Trump; Elizabeth Banks; Elon Musk; Ivanka Trump; John Legend; Noam Chomsky; Sachin Pilot; Sundar Pichai; Tory Burch and many others. Read on to know about a few of the notable alumni of the University of Pennsylvania.

Elon Musk
Co-founder and CEO at Tesla, Elon Musk is a regular on the Forbes list of The World’s Most Powerful People. With a net worth of over $22 Billion, he is clearly one of the richest persons in the world. Elon is also the co-founder, CEO and lead designer of Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) an organization that deals with advanced rockets and spacecraft for missions to and beyond the orbit of the Earth, with the goal of creating a self-sustaining city on Mars. He has also been previously associated with co-founding PayPal – the world’s leading Internet payment system, and Zip2. Born and raised in Pretoria, South Africa, Musk received an economics degree from the Wharton School and a degree in physics from the College of Arts and Sciences, University of Pennsylvania.

Noam Chomsky
Born in Philadelphia, Noam Chomsky was educated at the University of Pennsylvania, where he received his B.A. (1949), M.A. (1951), and Ph.D. (1955). A social critic and a well-known leftist activist, Chomsky is known for his work in the field of psycholinguistics. Notable literary works of Chomsky include, Current Issues in Linguistic Theory (1964), Aspects of the Theory of Syntax (1965), Topics in the Theory of Generative Grammar (1966), Cartesian Linguistics (1966), Language and Mind (1968), Reflections on Language (1975), Logical Structure of Linguistic Theory (1975), and Knowledge of Language (1986). Along with his contribution to linguistics, Chomsky has also taught courses and lectured at many universities throughout the world, including Oxford University. Although Chomsky’s work is primarily of interest to linguistics scholars, several of his theories have had popular applications in psychology.

John Legend
Renowned for his numerous social and charitable causes, John Legend is world-renowned Grammy and Academy Award-winning singer-songwriter with fans from around the world. Born John Roger Stephens on December 28, 1978, in Springfield, Ohio, Legend is often described as a child prodigy. His grandmother taught him how to play the piano, and he grew up singing in the church choir. Notable alumni of the University of Pennsylvania, he even directed a co-ed a cappella group while at the university. Among his many achievements include, Legend making history as the youngest person ever — and the first African-American man — to join the exclusive EGOT club. (EGOT stands for Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony awards. On September 09, 2018.

Anil Ambani
A highly educated billionaire, Anil Ambani has pursued his Bachelor’s degree in Science from the University of Mumbai, and later went up to the USA for his Master’s in Business Administration at The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania. Ambani joined Reliance, a conglomerate company founded by his late father, as the Co-Chief Executive Officer in 1983. He currently heads the Reliance Group as its Chairman. Anil Ambani is married to Indian Bollywood Actress, Tina Ambani who is also the managing director of Reliance Industries. They have two sons, Anmol and Anshul. The Ambanis are also associated with several philanthropic pursuits from the beginning.

Sundar Pichai
Pichai Sundararajan or more famously recognized as Sundar Pichai is an Indian-born American computer scientist and CEO at Google. Born in Chennai, India, Pichai has had humble beginnings. Pichai who was pursuing his MS in Engineering and Materials Science went on to pursue his MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. Following a short spell at the management consulting firm McKinsey & Co., Pichai joined Google in 2004 as the Head of Product Management and Development and in 2015 was named CEO at Google.

Other University of Pennsylvania alumni include Warren Buffet, Sachin Pilot, Ivanka Trump, Louis Kahn, and Candice Bergen among many others.

1. Jon Huntsman Sr.

The namesake behind Huntsman Hall and the Huntsman Program in International Studies and Business, Jon Huntsman Sr. tops our list of most famous alumni. Huntsman is well known for his business endeavors, political involvement and philanthropic efforts. He decided to attend the Wharton Schoolafter receiving encouragement from Wharton graduate Harold Zellerbach. Graduating in 1959, Huntsman went on to work for and oversee various companies, eventually founding his own, including the Huntsman Container Corporation, which is famous for creating the clamshell container that is used for the Big Mac. Huntsman also served in the White House administration of President Richard Nixon in 1971 as the associate administrator of the Department of Health, Education and Welfare. Giving more than he receives was always important to Huntsman, and according to Forbes, Huntsman is only one of 19 billionaires out of 1200 whose donations total over $1 billion.

2. John Legend

Fresh from his recent big win at the 2015 Golden Globes for Best Original Song for the song “Glory” from the movie “Selma” in collaboration with Common, Legend continues to succeed in the music industry. Legend has won nine Grammy awards and is nominated for another this year for best pop solo performance. His 2014 hit “All of Me” has sold over 4.6 million copies in the United States. Legend began at Penn when he was 16 years old and graduated with a major in English. While at Penn, he was involved in the a cappella group, Counterparts, and was a member of both the Sphinx and Onyx senior societies.

3. Tory Burch

This former Kappa Alpha Theta has a net worth of $1 billion and is currently the 79th most Powerful Woman in the World, as listed by Forbes. Despite her entrepreneurial success as a fashion designer, she didn’t attend Wharton but rather graduated from the College of Arts and Sciences with a degree in Art History. Before launching her successful fashion line, Burch worked for Harper’s Bazaar and Vera Wang. Her label started as “TRB by Tory Burch” in 2004 and today has 140 locations and is carried in over 3,000 department stores.

4. Elon Musk

Musk transferred to Penn after spending two years at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario. The CEO of SpaceX and Tesla Motors graduated from Wharton and stayed at Penn an extra year to earn a BA in physics. His work in science and business has earned him various awards including being named one of Time magazine’s most influential people in the world in 2010 and Fortune Businessperson of the Year in 2013. According to the Time magazine write up, when “Iron Man” director Jon Favreau struggled to make Tony Stark seem real, Robert Downey Jr. said, “We need to sit down with Elon Musk.”

5. Elizabeth Banks

You might know her as Effie Trinket from “The Hunger Games” movies or even as Alec Baldwin’s wife in “30 Rock,” but the “Pitch Perfect” producer got her start at Penn. During her time as a Quaker, Banks was a member of the Delta Delta Delta sorority and, while not a member of any a cappella groups, drew inspiration from Penn’sa cappella scene for 2012’s “Pitch Perfect.” Banks graduated magna cum laude in 1996 with a degree in communications. She hasn’t forgotten her Penn roots — Banks chose Penn Masala to be the only real collegiate a cappella group to be featured in “Pitch Perfect 2.”

Top Five Infamous Alumni

1. Donald Trump

Our most infamous Quaker transferred to Wharton in 1966 after some time at Fordham University. Trying to pinpoint just one thing Trump is infamous for would be impossible, considering the media attention he’s received. Besides his television shows “The Apprentice” and “The Celebrity Apprentice,” Trump is known for his attempts to run for president, his questioning of President Obama’s college transcript and birth certificate and has been accused of anti-Semitism and racism frequently.

2. Sabrina Rubin Erdely

Sabrina Rubin Erdely is best-known currently for her reporting on an alleged University of Virginia rape scandal for “Rolling Stone.” Erdely graduated from Penn in 1994 and was a writer for 34th Street. Her article “A Rape on Campus” wasn’t her first to be called into question. In 2011, Erdely reported on child abuse in the Catholic church in Philadelphia, which was criticized by “Newsweek’s” Ralph Cipriano after it was revealed that Erdely hadn’t reported on the victim’s criminal background nor on the fact that the victim changed his story each time he told it. Erdely’s UVA article earned her the Columbia Journalism Review’s “Worst Journalism of 2014” award.

3. Claudia Cohen

Claudia Cohen is more than just the hall in Perelman Quadrangle. Cohen attended Penn and was the first female managing editor of the Daily Pennsylvanian. She graduated with a degree in communications. Cohen is known for writing for and heightening the popularity of the New York Post’s gossip column, Page Six. What makes her infamous at Penn occurred after her death — her ex-husband, Penn alumnus Ronald Perelman, had Logan Hall, named for the secretary to William Penn, renamed to Claudia Cohen Hall in 2008 with a $20 million donation.Penn faculty and students were unimpressed with the change. Chemistry professor Ponzy Lu is quoted in the New York Times as finding the name change “totally idiotic.”

Stephen Glass

Glass was the executive editor of the Daily Pennsylvanian and coincidentally attended Penn at the same time as Erdely. It was revealed in 1998 that Glass had fabricated over half of his publications in The New Republic. The events were portrayed in the movie “Shattered Glass,” in which Glass was played by Hayden Christensen. Glass also attempted to practice law — he earned a law degree from Georgetown University — but the California Supreme Court ruled that he should not be licensed to practice law in California.

5. Michael Milken

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Milken is a classic example of a white-collar criminal. Although not a Penn undergraduate alum — Milken graduated from University of California at Berkeley in 1968 — Milken received his MBA from Wharton. In 1989, Milken was indicted for violating U.S. securities laws through racketeering and fraud. Milken was known as the “Junk Bond King,” and this title earned him an indictment on more than 90 counts of fraud. Milken plead guilty only to six counts of tax and securities violations and was sentenced to 10 years in prison. Fortunately for him, he was let out after two years for “good behavior.” At the time of his indictment, Wharton students removed his picture from inside of Steinberg Dietrich hall, prompting administrators to put it back up. Once he plead guilty however, it was taken down again.

University Of Pennsylvania Overview

University of Pennsylvania or UPenn is a private Ivy League school established in 1740. The university owns one of the first medical schools and Wharton B-School. As of 2022, UPenn is home to 28,000+ students including 13% international student population. UPenn graduate courses are quite popular, most of all, its courses offered by the School of Arts and Science, Wharton B-School, and School of Engineering. This indicates that admissions at Penn are highly competitive. University of Pennsylvania acceptance rate is 5.9% overall. Students with a GPA of 3.9/4 (94%) or higher have shown more successful selection than others. 

Much like other US ivy league colleges, the cost of studying is high-end. The average cost of studying University of Pennsylvania is 64 lakhs INR for Indian students. This includes tuition fees as well as the cost of living in Philadelphia. Though UPenn has limited financial aid resources for international students, they can enroll in work-study programs and part-time jobs. Taking the advantage of its proximity to New York City, students can work in top companies like Deloitte, IBM, Bank of China, Pepsico, JP Morgan, and more. The average salary offered to students after graduation is 68.20 lakhs. 

University of Pennsylvania Rankings

University of Pennsylvania is a top-ranked university in Pennsylvania. Some of the top rankings of UPenn are mentioned below.

• #13 in QS World University Rankings, 2023
• #10 among the US Universities according to QS Global World University Rankings, 2022
• #20 in Graduate Employability Ranking, by QS Global World University Rankings, 2022
• #13 in World University Rankings in 2022 by Times Higher Education.
• #8 in National Universities by US News 2022
• #48 in Best Undergraduate Teaching by US News 2022
• #14 in Best Value Schools by US News 2022

UPenn College Comparisons

University of Pennsylvania, Carnegie Mellon University, Columbia University are three consecutive popular universities. A brief comparison of top ranking subjects by QS are tabulated below.

University of Pennsylvania is often compared with these universities. Find out more about the comparisons below.

University of Pennsylvania Courses

University of Pennsylvania courses are offered in 91 majors and 93 minors. The university also has 120+ graduate majors. UPenn courses are also popular for their 30 online and hybrid programs and 74 certificate programs.

University of Pennsylvania Top Programs

University of Pennsylvania Online Courses

The university also offers a variety of online educational opportunities including certificates, continuing education, micro-credentials, and degrees. University of Pennsylvania online courses are offered in science, business, law and humanities. Some of the top online courses with fees and duration are mentioned below.

• AI Strategy and Governance– The course duration is 7-8 months and it is free of cost.
• AI Fundamentals for Non-Data Scientists– The course lasts for 4 months and is also free of cost.
• AI for Business Specialization– The duration is 4 months and the cost to pursue it is 39 USD

University of Pennsylvania Admissions

To secure University of Pennsylvania admissions, students must submit competitive scores of standardized tests in USA. Admission requirements for Indian students are mentioned below.

Application Portal: Common Application for UG| UPenn Applyweb for PG
Application Fees: UG: 75 USD (5,921 INR)| PG: 90 USD (7,110 INR)| MBA: 275 USD (21,726 INR)
UPenn Undergraduate Admission Requirements:

• Official high school transcripts
• Minimum GPA of 3.0/4 (83-86%)
• 2 Letters of recommendation
• Scores of SAT/ACT (optional)
  • ACT score: 35 – 36
  • SAT score: 1490 – 1560
• Interview (offered on availability)
• Financial statement supporting ability to pay fees
• ELP scores

UPenn Graduate Admission Requirements:

• Official high school transcripts
• 2-3 LOR
• GPA score of 3.9/4 (94%) is recommended
• Scores of GRE/GMAT(optional for 2022-23 students)
• Interview (offered on availability)
• Financial statement
• English Language Proficiency scores
  • TOEFL iBT: 100 recommended
  • IELTS: 6.5 recommended
• Work experience for MBA students (average 5 years )
• Resume

UPenn MBA Admission Requirements:

• Background information
• Academic transcripts
• 2 Essays + 1 optional essay
• 2 LORs
• GMAT or GRE scores
  • GRE: 324 (Class of 2024 average)
  • GMAT scores: 733 (Class of 2024 average)
• ELP scores
• Resume
• Average 5 years of work experience

For more information about MBA admission, check out: The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania

University of Pennsylvania Acceptance Rate

UPenn admission process is extremely selective with an acceptance rate of 5.9%.  The university currently houses 28,000+ students. The total student population comprises 23,030 full-time and 5,008 part-time students. In Fall 2021, 6,392 international students were admitted to UPenn overall. Out of all 40% of them hailed from Asian countries. The undergraduate international acceptance rate was only 3.2% for that period.

University of Pennsylvania Campus

The university is located in the city of Philadelphia, which is easily commutable to areas like New York City and Washington DC.

• University of Pennsylvania campuses are spread across 3 locations – University city campus; New Bolton Center; Morris Arboretum.
• The university is near to attractions like Arthur Ross Gallery, Annenberg centre, Institute of contemporary art, Morris, Arboretum, Rocky statue, and Philadelphia Museum of Art.
• Students can go to shopping centres like Amazon, ACME markets, and Urban Outfitters. Also, the university is located near restaurants like Au Bon Pain, Baby Blues BBQ, Ben & Jerry’s, and Dunkin Donuts.
• Various types of sports facilities are available at UPenn campus, like cricket, hockey, football, tennis, baseball, and badminton.
• UPenn Campus arranges for intercollegiate competitions in 17 sports events for men and 16 for women. More than 60 academically-based community service courses are taught on campus each year.
• Around 14,000 university students, faculty members and staff participate in more than 300 Penn volunteer and community service agendas.
• Students can commute through Penn Transit services, Penn Buses, Penn Shuttles, Ride Sharing, Carpooling, and Bicycling.

University of Pennsylvania Accommodation

Students can choose to stay both on-campus and off-campus. University of Pennsylvania accommodation facilities available for both on-campus and off-campus are mentioned below.

On-Campus Accommodation

The university offers housing facilities to approximately 5,500 undergraduate students. Also, 500 graduate students are offered on-campus residence facilities. The university has 12 undergraduate houses and one Samson palace for graduate students.

The average cost of staying in university-provided student housing in USA ranges from around 11,000 – 13,000 USD (~8.1-9.6 Lakh INR). Graduate housing rates for 2022-2023 are tabulated below.

Off-Campus Accommodation

The cost of finding an apartment nearby ranges between 1.19 lakhs- 15 lakhs. Students can choose to live on a sharing basis. The basic amenities available in off-campus accommodation are information centres, 24 hours security, room with bedroom, electronic locks to the buildings, free laundry, free wifi, free cable tv, mail and package rooms.
Students looking for off-campus housing can check here.

University of Pennsylvania Cost of Attendance

Average University of Pennsylvania cost of study is 64 lakhs – 66 lakhs per year. The university has different costs of attendance for undergraduate students and graduate students. A brief of the University of Pennsylvania fees for Indian students is mentioned below.

UPenn graduate tuition fees vary according to selected programs. Wharton School of Business is the most expensive among them with a 59 lakhs tuition fee. Law School charges 51 lakhs, while School of Engineering charges 23 lakhs as tuition cost. The University of Pennsylvania fees for graduate students are represented below.

University of Pennsylvania Scholarships

46% of the undergraduate students received University of Pennsylvania grant-based scholarships in 2020-21. The average scholarship offered to students is 56,000 USD. UPenn has awarded scholarships in USA worth 2 billion USD to more than 22,000 students as part of undergraduate aid since 2004.

UPenn has designed its work-study programs, especially for the students who are not eligible for US federal funds. Also, the students are allowed to work for 20 hours a week when classes are in session and 40 hours a week when classes are off. Explore: Part-time Jobs in USA!

University of Pennsylvania Notable Alumni

University of Pennsylvania offers various benefits to alumni. Some of the benefits include – 

• Discounts in insurance
• Entertainment discounts
• Retail discounts
• Educational discounts
• Additional Penn discounts
• A Penncard for the alumni.

Some of the Notable Alumni at University of Pennsylvania are mentioned below:

• The US ex-president Donald Trump
• Indian business tycoon Anil Ambani
• SpaceX and Tesla founder Elon Musk
• Actress Elizabeth Banks
• Billionaire Warren Buffet
• Pulitzer Prize-winning author Jennifer Egan

University of Pennsylvania Placements

78% of undergraduate students at University of Pennsylvania get jobs after graduating from university. Apart from this, 80% of graduates get job offers after graduation. Median salary for the graduates tends to be around 84,500 USD (67.34 lakhs). Some of the top recruiters at university are Accenture, BCG, Bain & Co., Deloitte, Mckinsey & Co., EY Parthenon, PWC, Tesla. Most of the students got job placements during on-campus interviews. Career Service Resources also played a major role. Explore: High-Paying Jobs in USA!

Source: UPenn

As per the university record, majority of the graduates are getting employed in Healthcare sector. Also, 22% of them are choosing higher education over a job offer. University of Pennsylvania graduate employment percentages as per industries are represented below.

UPenn MBA Placements

Among University of Pennsylvania MBA graduates of the class of 2021, 30% are international students representing 63 countries. Their destinations after graduation are as follows.

• 99% of students got job offers
• 96.8% of them accepted the job offers
• 2.7% of the total students decided to start their own business
• 12.3% returned to their previous company.

UPenn is one of the top colleges in the USA and is rich in several programs across undergraduate and postgraduate level. The university has produced a huge number of professional, social and cultural leaders across numerous fields. UPenn graduates are hired by various companies offering lucrative salary packages and excellent growth opportunities. These factors collectively make the university a coveted place for education for students planning to study in the USA.

UPenn is known for some famous alumni like Donald Trump, Anil Ambani, and Elon Musk. For Indian students, the university has an Indian Center that assists them with research opportunities and scholarships. The university closely works with alumni groups in India. That includes the five Penn Clubs and the four Alumni Interview Committees