Why Wharton is such a big deal

Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte and administration bet Manuel "Mar" Roxas II have had a heated exchange over the Liberal Party standard-bearer's Wharton School background.

But why is a degree from the prestigious business school of the University of Pennsylvania such a big deal?

According to its website, Wharton is the world's first collegiate business school, established in 1881.

Wharton boasts that it has the "largest and one of the most published business school faculty with 225+ standing and associate members."

Among its notable alumni are US Republican presidential candidate and business mogul Donald J. Trump, as well as magnate and philantropist Warren Buffet, who is consistently ranked among the world's wealthiest people.

Other alumni include Pepsi and Apple's John Sculley, and LinkedIn CEO Jeff Weiner.

MBA vs. undergrad

Duterte has claimed that Roxas could not be considered a Wharton graduate because he finished his undergraduate economics degree and not a Master of Business Administration (MBA) at the school.

But for graduates of the school, there might not necessarily be a distinction.

"Undergrads can definitely claim to be Wharton grads. In fact, the undergrad is maybe more competitive than the MBA program," Rebecca Ricalde, a digital commerce executive who was a member of the Wharton MBA Class of 2011, told GMA News Online.

In 2014, Fortune Magazine rated Wharton as the best undergraduate business program in the U.S.

"The school boasts one of the most respected, and selective, undergraduate business programs in the country," Fortune's report read.

Wharton vs. Penn

Saying one is a graduate of Wharton, instead of the University of Pennsylvania, also carries with it a different prestige.

"The University of Pennsylvania has a 12% acceptance rate, and it doesn’t break its statistics down by school—though the rumors are that Wharton is harder to get into than Penn," read the Fortune report.

According to Ricalde, Wharton students enjoy a wider arrray of resources compared to other Penn students. These are funded by Wharton's very active alumni network.

"More resources are dedicated to Wharton students in campus thanks largely to donations of prominent alumni," she said.

A career placement team is also available for Wharton students, she added.

Fortune's report noted that graduates from Wharton's undergrad program are among the best paid globally.

"A veritable Who’s Who of America’s Corporate Elite have waved hefty job offers at the roughly 650 students in the class of 2014, making freshly minted Whartonites among the most richly paid business undergraduates in the world," said the Fortune report. —JST, GMA News