Although the Wharton School dropped from third to fourth place in BusinessWeek’s 2010 Undergraduate Business Program ranking, students do not consider this drop consequential.

Students’ career prospects are also unlikley to be affected, according to Career Services.

Wharton sophomore Natalie Scherer said she doesn’t think the quality of education at Wharton has fallen in the last year.

“It’s not as though anything has dramatically changed in Wharton between this year and last,” Scherer said. “People who get too caught up in the numbers are never going to be happy.”

Wharton junior Vivian Chen does not see the drop as significant.

“Everyone knows Wharton is number one, no matter what this year’s rankings say,” she said.

One of the factors the rankings take into account is job placement after graduation.

Senior Associate Director of Career Services Barbara Hewitt said Career Services surveys students to see what they are doing after graduation, and even in last year’s recession, Wharton students had as many offers and options to choose from as those at any peer school.

“I actually had a conversation with a recruiter this morning,” Hewitt said, explaining that the recruiter asked Hewitt how to increase the company’s presence among Wharton students.

Career Services Director Pat Rose agreed, pointing out that placement from Wharton received an A-plus in the ranking breakdown.

“It is among the top schools. We serve ace employers, and we serve ace students,” she said.

Wharton sophomore Madhav Nandipati said the top positions are always going to shift around.

“Wharton’s already made a name for itself as one of the most prestigious business schools in the country,” he said. “The drop is not going to change recruiters’ perception.”

Wharton Women President and Wharton junior Lauren Fleischer said Wharton’s position in the ranking dropped last year and “I don’t think I’ve seen many recruiters leave campus this year because of that, so for next year I don’t really see it affecting either.”

Nandipati said he does not believe the drop will not dissuade prospective students from applying to and ultimately picking Wharton.

“In class I’m still working with the most diligent and brightest students — I don’t think decreasing by one spot is going to affect the caliber of next year’s students.”