Maha Faraz

The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania

“An honest, friendly, and loyal person who loves wit, sass, and humor.”

Hometown: Karachi, Pakistan

Fun Fact About Yourself: I am attending my dream business school with my twin sister.

Undergraduate School and Major: BSc. Management from The London School of Economics & Political Science (Class of 2018)

Most Recent Employer and Job Title: Associate, Financial Markets Sales at Standard Chartered Bank

What has been your first impression of the Wharton MBA students and alumni you’ve met so far. Tell us your best Wharton story so far. Everyone I have met has been so open and honest throughout this whole process. I went to a small cluster dinner and instead of the usual small talk, we spoke about the things that matter to us, and the funny and sad stories from our past (I love a free therapy session).

Aside from your classmates, what was the key part of the Wharton School’s MBA programming that led you to choose this business school and why was it so important to you? Wharton’s curriculum and way of bridging the gap between classroom learning and real-life experiences was extremely appealing to me. My experiences in finance and at a water foundation in Pakistan attract me to the impact investing space. I’m really drawn to the Wharton Impact Venture Associates (WIVA) program where I would work on real-life impact investment deals to learn the groundbreaking practices of sourcing impact-focused companies.

What course, club, or activity excites you the most at the Wharton School? I am really excited for all the travelling that my classmates and I will be doing over the next two years (especially to Colombia and Japan) and the lasting bonds we’ll form along the way!

When you think of the Wharton School, what is the first word that comes to mind? Why? Diverse. Out of a class of 877 students, 35% are international and represent 77 different countries. Every cluster, cohort and learning team at Wharton is a great representation of the diversity.

Describe your biggest accomplishment in your career so far: Straight after undergrad, I joined Hisaar Foundation, a non-profit think tank in Pakistan’s water sector. I helped organize their 2019 International Water Conference that generated public awareness and secured funding from sponsors to help alleviate water scarcity in Pakistan.

What led you to pursue an MBA at this point and what do you hope to do after graduation? My interests lie at the intersection of finance and sustainability. I joined Standard Chartered Bank’s international program within Financial Markets and observed the incredible work their sustainable finance team is doing. This showed me how uniting finance with sustainability by allocating capital to where it matters most can make a powerful impact. To work in this space, I realized I needed to be more financially and operationally savvy, and there’s no better way to enhance my skill set than an MBA program at Wharton. To achieve my long-term goal of entering the impact investing space, I’m planning first to go into banking to develop a deep financial grounding and learn the essentials of investing.

What is one thing you have recently read, watched, or listened to that you would highly recommend to prospective MBAs? Why? I listened to the audiobook version of Will by Will Smith—which I highly recommend because listening to Will Smith narrate is amazing. It was an extremely raw, entertaining, and introspective book. (And who doesn’t love the story of an underdog?)

What other MBA programs did you apply to? Columbia Business School

What advice would you give to help potential applicants gain admission into the Wharton School’s MBA program? Start early! You want to make sure you’re contacting as many current MBA candidates as possible to learn about the admission process way ahead of time. Also, make sure to take the time to learn about what it is you really want to do and how Wharton will get you there. The MBA application process is a time to be introspective.

DON’T MISS: MEET THE WHARTON SCHOOL’S MBA CLASS OF 2024