Staff Editorial: Competitive recruiting

Of nearly 10,000 Penn undergraduates, only 18.3 percent of them -- roughly 1,800 -- are enrolled in the Wharton School.

The prestigious business school doesn't simply confine its selectivity to enrolled students, though. It boasts an acceptance rate of just 14 percent -- a noticeably small percentage, especially when you consider that the next-most competitive undergraduate school, the College, admits 21.7 percent of applicants.

Such numbers clearly suggest that Wharton is an environment rooted in competition. As such, it's no surprise that the school is often cited as one of the fiercest academic communities around.

But what is surprising is the number of Penn athletes -- especially those in high-profile sports like football and men's basketball -- spending their days in the corridors of Steinberg Hall-Dietrich Hall.

Maybe these athletes naturally gravitate toward the study of business. Maybe the numbers are skewed along the gender line, just as Wharton is predominately male.

Both are possibilities. But a more likely scenario is that Wharton -- and its prestigious reputation -- are being used to help recruit potential athletes to Penn, as evidence suggests is the practice at several other Ivy League institutions.

That practice is concerning because in an elite academic environment, no individual segment of students should benefit from such heavy preference. It is crucial that Penn administrators use that practice judiciously -- if ever -- if they are concerned with maintaining the integrity of their premier business school.

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