<p>So I got into both and can't decide between the two. At the moment, I feel like I want to do business but this isn't particularly set in stone. If I had applied to Wharton and gotten in, the decision probably wouldn't be as hard as it is right now. However, I had only just started beginning to become interested in finance when applying to college so I went with UPenn CAS at the time. </p>
<p>So the question now is, should I pursue a math-economics degree at Columbia or go to UPenn and attempt to transfer to Wharton(which I hear is pretty difficult to do). Also, I forgot to mention that I am a math person and would still like to have rigorous math education in college. So I suppose another question is, which school has a stronger math department? </p>
<p>You don’t have to transfer to Wharton to get educated in finance, although it’s quite possible. It just goes by GPA. I would also look at environments: I mean do you really want to go through the Core at Columbia?</p>
<p>Wouldn’t being educated at Wharton give me better opportunities than say at Columbia in terms of finance? </p>
<p>Also, I don’t mind having a core curriculum. I basically had to go through it during high school and it really wasn’t all that bad in my opinion. In fact, it probably made me a brighter/more impressive student in general.</p>
<p>Even if you don’t transfer into Wharton and decide to get a math-econ degree at Penn, your ability to take classes at Wharton would not only greatly enhance your education, but it will also make you more attractive to future business employers. Even so, I would make the decision based upon which school’s atmosphere you prefer. The main reason I chose Penn CAS over Columbia is the fact that I felt that Columbia’s social scene was dominated by NYC, as opposed to Penn’s campus-centric atmosphere (while maintaining the ammenities of a large city)</p>
<p>You should choose between Columbia and Penn CAS based on which you believe you will enjoy more, based on the day-to-day experience, without regard to Wharton. If you want to transfer to Wharton (which is unlikely, given that you will likely enjoy your current choice), you can do so from either Columbia or Penn. The colleges are different; there must be one you like better than the other? Personally, I would choose Columbia due to the Core and the City (as did my Columbia son), but perhaps your sense of life at Penn gives it the nod. Personally, I would ignore Wharton. It may be one of the best undergraduate business schools but, as an old business guy, I believe the undergraduate years are best spent studying Homer and Virginia Woolf and economic theory and math and philosophy and… Time spent in the liberal arts will serve you well in your career, and make your life much more fulfilling.</p>
<p>I hate it when people bash Wharton for supposedly lacking a liberal arts education when clearly they dont know what they are talking about. At Wharton you can take almost 50% of your classes in any of its 12 schools (undergraduate and graduate) or do a minor or even double major!</p>