The University of Pennsylvania, founded by Benjamin Franklin in 1740, is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and a founding member of the Ivy League. Penn, as it is affectionately known, is one of America's great research universities — consistently ranked among the top ten universities in the world — and is globally celebrated as home to the Wharton School, the world's most prestigious business school.
Penn's campus occupies a beautiful 299-acre urban setting in the University City neighborhood of West Philadelphia, just minutes from Center City Philadelphia and directly adjacent to Drexel University. The campus blends historic architecture — including College Hall, the oldest building on campus, built in 1871 — with modern research facilities and world-class museums. The Penn Museum (Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology) is one of the great museums of the ancient world, housing remarkable collections from Egypt, Mesopotamia, the Mediterranean, and Asia.
Penn enrolls approximately 28,000 students across its 12 schools and colleges, with a strong international presence — approximately 25% of graduate students come from outside the United States. The university is uniquely structured around the concept of "One University" — students can take courses across any of Penn's schools, creating an unusually flexible and interdisciplinary educational experience.
The Wharton School, founded in 1881 as the world's first collegiate business school, is the crown jewel of Penn's academic offerings. Wharton's MBA program, undergraduate business program, and executive education programs are all consistently ranked #1 or #2 globally. Wharton alumni include Elon Musk, Warren Buffett (who applied to Harvard Business School and was rejected, then graduated from Wharton), Donald Trump, Sundar Pichai, and a remarkable concentration of the world's most influential business leaders and entrepreneurs.
Beyond Wharton, Penn's Perelman School of Medicine is one of America's top-ranked medical schools and is directly affiliated with Penn Medicine, one of the nation's leading academic medical systems. Penn Law, Penn's School of Nursing, the Annenberg School for Communication, and the School of Engineering and Applied Science are all highly ranked nationally and internationally.
Penn alumni include three signers of the Declaration of Independence, two signers of the Constitution, seven current U.S. governors, and an extraordinary roster of Nobel laureates, Pulitzer Prize winners, and global business leaders.
For families flying in, Philadelphia International Airport (PHL) is the most convenient, approximately 20–30 minutes from Penn's campus. Newark Liberty (EWR) is approximately 1.5 to 2 hours, and JFK approximately 2 to 2.5 hours. MyNYSUV provides door-to-door luxury SUV service from JFK, Newark, and Philadelphia airports directly to Penn's campus in University City, as well as to any Philadelphia address. We also serve Princeton University and the Lawrenceville School for families managing multiple stops in the New York–Philadelphia corridor.