Talking Finance and Study Habits During a Day Trip to the Wharton School

The sun was shining, and I-95 traffic was manageable on October 3, 2025, making it an ideal time for a road trip to the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, Pa.

Some 40 students from Urban Assembly Maker Academy in Lower Manhattan and KIPP DuBois Collegiate Academy charter school in Philadelphia, high schools participating in Wharton Global Youth Program’s online Essentials of Personal Finance dual-enrollment course, arrived late morning for a day with Wharton.

They clamored into Jon M. Huntsman Hall’s G65 classroom, accompanied by teachers and school counselors and greeted by Wharton Global Youth staff and representatives from the National Education Opportunity Network. The Network partners with Wharton and other universities to offer college-level courses to public high schools that are co-taught by classroom teachers.

The agenda promised opening remarks, lunch, discussion with University of Pennsylvania undergraduates, and exploration along Wharton’s main thoroughfare known as Locust Walk. Many visitors were enjoying their first trip to a college campus.

“You are members of this Wharton School community, and we want you to think about your place within it,” said Eli Lesser, Wharton Global Youth’s senior executive director, as he welcomed the group to Wharton. “You have been working with our Wharton fellows during your online classes, and now you are physically here on campus. You can see it, touch it, and be part of it.”

Finance Minded

A chance to meet college professors, like Wharton’s David Musto, the designer and video lecturer for their course on personal finance concepts and financial decision making, brought the students’ dual-enrollment experience to a new level. It also enriched the efforts of teachers and administrators.

“We’re trying to expand our offerings at the high school, adding more AP classes and college-level courses,” noted Amanda Bercovici, a social worker and director of college counseling at Urban Assembly Maker Academy, a Career and Technical Education high school that offers different career pathways. “We are a Title I school, which means that 70% of our kids live under the poverty line. We want them to have exposure to new opportunities. And we believe that education around finance is super important.”

Most students seemed to share that sentiment. During introductions, they highlighted their favorite Essentials of Personal Finance moments thus far. Daniel from KIPP DuBois in Philadelphia appreciated earning college credit for his work, while his classmate Tysean liked learning about budgeting, and Laila found information about taxes really useful.

“Young people should definitely know more about personal finance,” said Ian M., a high school senior from Urban Assembly Maker Academy who is applying to colleges and interested in a career in professional aviation. “This economy is pretty volatile. The credit card and the debit card modules were very good because a lot of people, even adults, don’t know the difference between them. I feel like that was very helpful.”

Ian’s schoolmate Maritza P.R., an aspiring entrepreneur and seamstress from Staten Island, N.Y., who would like to launch her own clothing line, credited Essentials of Personal Finance with helping her to save more of her allowance – a skill she hoped to one day use at her top college choice, Fashion Institute of Technology.

Secret Study Tips

While any good visit to Wharton often leads to financial chatter, this day was also about experiencing college life. “Being part of it,” as Lesser suggested, meant interacting with college undergrads, who joined the high school guests in G65 to talk academics and campus culture.

The undergrad panel, all of whom were also teaching assistants in Wharton Global Youth summer programs, shared their favorite club activities, how to find natural light to study by, the joy of cooking for friends, and even fueling their days with caffeine.

The best advice came in response to high school students’ questions, like: what are your secret study tips?

“Time management is important,” said Haley White, a Wharton school junior studying business analytics and data science. “If you can avoid procrastination and start to study in advance for midterms…you need to be able to manage [your time] and study ahead if you have an essay or a project to do.”

Van Anh Nguyen, a Wharton sophomore, perhaps had the most charming insight for the room of aspiring college students. “I think college is so fun,” she said. “There will never be a time when you can do so many different things at once and live 10 minutes from your friends — like ever again. And so, I’m trying to make the most out of the opportunity.”

The undergrads’ messages of community, collaboration and grit resonated with Bercovici, who is particularly tuned into thinking critically and creatively with her students at one of the only high schools in New York City to have a maker space. “Our slogan is ‘Makers Make it Happen,’ she said. “We want our students to be ready for anything.”