Explore Options; Plan Your MBA Academic Program

20
Pre-Term
MATH PROFICIENCY
STAT 611
Mathematics for Business Analysis
Description: All students take a mathematics proficiency exam
to ensure they are prepared for the core curriculum . Many
students score sufficiently highly that they do not need a math
review . For those candidates who feel their mathematical skills
need refreshing or who did not pass the exam prior to arrival,
Wharton offers STAT 611: Mathematics for Business Analysis .
STAT 611 covers basic arithmetic and algebraic skills (manipulation
of exponents and other symbols, expressing and plotting
of functions, solving simultaneous equations, etc .) and the basic
notions and techniques of differential and integral calculus .
The theme of the course is the notion of a mathematical function
. Included in the survey of techniques and ideas is a preview
of how they appear in later courses, and thus is also useful
for those who passed the exam prior to arrival but want greater
exposure to the business application of these math concepts .
Format: Lecture and discussion .
Materials: Text and class handouts .
PRE-TERM PROFICIENCY
Wharton’s Pre-Term academic program is designed to prepare
entering students, who come from very diverse backgrounds,
for the common experience of the MBA core curriculum .
Pre-Term offers courses in financial accounting, and finance .
All Pre-Term courses are non-credit; i .e ., they do not count
towards graduation requirements and their grades are not
recorded on students’ transcripts .
FINANCIAL ACCOUNTING
The objective of the core requirement in financial accounting
is to teach the basic concepts, standards, and practices of financial
reporting so that students can read and understand published
financial statements . Students have diverse backgrounds
in financial accounting and may fulfill the core requirement by
taking either the full-semester core course (ACCT 611) or the
half-semester core course (ACCT 612) .
ACCT 611 is intended for students who have little or no
background in financial accounting . ACCT 612 is intended for
students who have the knowledge associated with the successful
completion of at least one university-level course in financial
accounting, but not enough knowledge to waive the financial
accounting core requirement . Both ACCT 611 and ACCT
612 cover the same material . The distinction is the amount of
time allotted to each topic and the presumed starting knowledge
of the students .
A placement examination is given at the end of Pre-Term
to determine each student’s eligibility for the half-semester
financial accounting course (ACCT 612) . Placement into
ACCT 612 is also possible by credentials . In addition, a separate
waiver examination is given at the end of Pre-Term to
determine each student’s eligibility for waiving the entire financial
accounting core requirement . It is also possible to waive
the entire financial accounting core requirement by credential .
Please refer to the Financial Accounting Section of the Waiver
Information Guide for official policies governing the waiver and
placement process .
The Pre-Term course offerings are designed to prepare you
for the appropriate pathway through the financial accounting
core requirement . The following are brief course descriptions
of the three levels of Pre-Term financial accounting courses .
ACCT 603
Financial Accounting
Basic Course
Description: Upon completion of this course, the student
should be prepared to take the full semester introductory
Financial Accounting course, ACCT 611 . ACCT 603 is designed
for students who will be taking ACCT 611 and have no
familiarity or experience in financial accounting . This course
will meet during Pre-Term . Topics covered in this course
include the double-entry accounting system, accounting for
common transactions, and income statement and balance sheet
preparation . While these topics will be briefly reviewed again
in ACCT 611 from a financial statement user’s perspective,
ACCT 603 provides the technical details of accounting from
a preparer’s perspective . Students without any accounting
background should take ACCT 603 . Students with some
accounting background who intend to take ACCT 611
should consider taking ACCT 603 as a refresher course .
Format: Lecture/problem solving in class .
Requirements: Assigned problems (no grade);
final diagnostic test .
ACCT 604
Financial Accounting
Review Course
Description: This course will meet during Pre-Term . It is not
a class for individuals who have had no prior exposure to financial
accounting; rather it is a class for those students who have
had some prior training in financial accounting but have not
been able to place by credential into the half-semester financial
accounting course, ACCT 612 . Students who have placed into
ACCT 612 by credential are also strongly advised to take this
course, because the knowledge of all material covered in this
course will be presumed in ACCT 612 . ACCT 604 will review
fundamentals of double-entry bookkeeping, basic terminology
of statements, and recording of basic financial transactions . In
addition, ACCT 604 will review revenue recognition concepts,
preparation of the statement of cash flows, and the interpretation
of financial statements . It is presumed that the student
taking this course has previously studied most of this material .
Upon completion of this course, the student should be prepared
to take the Placement Exam .