<p>So after doing more research into my colleges, I have narrowed it down to Fisher Program at Penn or Harvard. (Though I am still considering Princeton...)</p>
<p>Although I am most leaning towards pursuing a career in business, I am not sure 100% which makes me hesitant to choose to attend the M&T program. However, at the same time, OMG AN ENGINEERING AND BUSINESS DEGREE FROM PENN IN FOUR YEARS???? THAT'S LIKE THE ULTIMATE COMBINATION!!!</p>
<p>** Based on your experience with Wharton, how would you describe it? Is the advising good? I've read somewhere that somebody said that the Wharton homework answer keys were often times wrong and it was frustrating. In addition, some other people have said that the professors are not he best lecturers. Based on your experience, is the faculty advising good? Can the professors teach? How big are the class sizes? Is the Penn camps very widespread or convenient for walking? How's the food in your opinion? **</p>
<p>If you can add anything else besides what I have already mentioned, please feel free to do so.</p>
<p>M&T is one of the most, if not the most selective program in the world.
If you want to do business, Wharton alone is probably better than Harvard (though not worth 80k additional) but M&T, definitely.
And agreed with 45 percenter-if you tell them you will attend Penn if they match, they probably will</p>
<p>With the worldwide prestige of the Fisher program, you should definitely ask Penn to meet or at least be comparable to Harvard’s aid. Even if they don’t, a dual degree just in general seems cooler and more impressive. Furthermore, if you aren’t completely sure about your career goals, getting a degree in business and in engineering will broaden your scope, opportunities, and ensure you aren’t stuck in a job that you dislike. Remember, business ventures are risky, having a good fallback, especially in tough economics times, will save your life later on.</p>
<p>Ask Penn to match Harvard’s financial package. If they don’t re-evaluate your situation, go to Harvard. </p>
<p>M&T is the premier undergraduate engineering-business program in the US, and one of the best in the world, but you are going to school in the US, so you have a LOT of freedom. My sister graduated with a double degree from Harvard last year, although she entered as a pre-med.</p>
<p>I’m a senior at UPenn, though I’ll try to be as unbiased as possible. The beautiful thing is that you obviously can’t go wrong here, sounds like you have a number of great options. Contrary to what has been said here, I would be inclined to think that Penn will be unwilling to match your financial aid from Harvard. Seeing as you only got $20,000 at Harvard, I’m guessing that puts you in the 150-200k income bracket, and I just don’t see Penn giving you a lot of financial aid with that income. But it never hurts to try.</p>
<ul>
<li><p>With regard to all things academic, I wouldn’t worry about it too much. Class sizes will be fine, professors will be good, advising will be decent. The best advice is the advice you get from upperclassmen, not advisers. If you want a ton of guidance and hand-holding, it is certainly out there, and you just need to make appointments with the right people. But once you get here, you will see the way the system works, learn what it takes to get an A, and become quite independent about academic stuff.</p></li>
<li><p>With regard to M+T, I cannot imagine a more powerful degree. There are some companies in Philadelphia that recruit specifically M+T students. The program will open doors and give you the flexibility to whatever you want. Of my friends that are graduating M+T this year: one was accepted to every grad school he applied to for materials science engineering and will be going to MIT in the fall; one is consulting at BCG, one of the top three consulting firms in the world; one is working for an investment bank in San Francisco, and the list goes on.</p></li>
<li><p>With regard to campus and food, I find campus to be the perfect size. It is fun to walk around, and it takes me ~10 minutes to get anywhere (from my apartment to my classes, from class to lunch with a friend, etc.). It is not big enough that you need to take a bus to get from point A to point B, and it is not so small that you feel cramped. Food overall is very good. There are three Indian buffets and three Thai restaurants within two blocks of campus, and lots of other options for ethnic food. There are also lots of chain restaurants like McDonalds, Subway, and Chipotle. Food trucks are also a fun option. I usually spend like $7 on lunch and like $8-12 on dinner.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>^ Harvard and Wharton have very, very similar placement on Wall Street. Going to Wharton offers NO advantage over going to Harvard. Add to that, Harvard being a Liberal-Arts College (where you can study whatever you want and not have to deal with a curve) AND being cheaper, and this choice becomes a no-brainer.</p>
<p>Plus, if you ever change your mind about working in finance, you’ll realize that having the Harvard name on your resume is a huge safety-net, more so than Wharton.</p>
<p>Plus, Harvard undergrads are the largest cohort at HBS. You have a higher chance at being admitted to HBS than your peers at Wharton. This is a huge factor since I believe everyone agrees, HBS absolutely crushes Wharton in everything.</p>
<p>Simply put, you’d be a ■■■■■■ to turn down Harvard in this case.</p>
<p>If Penn matches Harvard’s aid (a good possibility) then all your points become moot. What I’m trying to get at is that you should really have waited until you surely knew that the cost of M&T was going to be, in fact, higher than that of Harvard before insinuating that the OP is dumb.</p>
<p>Like I said, if M&T is indeed going to be 20k more than Harvard, then definitely H>M&T. But if Penn matches, I’m not so sure that the decision is as easy as you might think.</p>
<p>I really don’t care, but even if Harvard were 20K more expensive, I’d advise the OP to take it. Between H and Penn M&T, there really isn’t a contest. </p>
<p>Lol only Penn alums will ever tell you that M&T is as prestigious as H. To an impartial bystander like myself, this is an extremely easy decision.</p>
<p>^ Spoken like a true prestige-obsessed high school student with absolutely no real-world experience or wisdom (or data, e.g., placement stats for M&T vs. Harvard College, etc.). :rolleyes:</p>
<p>First of all, I find it very hard to believe that Harvard classes don’t have curves.</p>
<p>Second, “This is a huge factor since I believe everyone agrees, HBS absolutely crushes Wharton in everything.” Um, what? There is so much wrong with that statement (“every agrees” for one example) I don’t even know what to say.
Same on the “there really isn’t a contest between H and M&T”…many people choose Wharton single degree over Harvard, and then add in the M&T factor…</p>
<p>I would also like to “like” 45 Percenter’s comment. princetondreams, you may be a bystander, but you’re obviously not impartial.</p>
<p>Let’s not forget to add the social experiences are completely different.</p>
<p>Icon2015: did you appeal Penn/hear a decision yet?</p>
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