My son has narrowed it down to these two options, and both would be incredible opportunities. Of course, Wharton and Columbia are very different in some ways, but in the context of the two scholars programs, they’re more similar than they initially seemed. For example, the John Jay provides lots of opportunities for working with start-ups and non-profits, and the Joseph Wharton is designed to emphasize the liberal arts and sciences along with the business core. Both provide access to special opportunities, programs, advising, research, etc. He could take courses at the business school at Columbia, and at the college of arts and sciences at Penn.
Both colleges are affordable and comparable in cost. He liked both campuses and the classes he visited. He’s undecided on major/career (he’s a love-of-learning guy and hasn’t yet had a subject he didn’t enjoy). Right now he’s thinking along the lines of economics, philosophy, finance, or applied math.
Any advice on the sorts of things he should consider when making his decision? After visiting both places, he says he finds the decision MORE difficult. Thanks in advance for any input!
They still seem pretty different to me. Assuming that the named Scholars don’t come with any cash, essentially what you have is Columbia College (Arts & Sciences) vs. Wharton BS (many in Econ). (Penn allows any student to take classes in any college, and I assume something similar at CC.) Since he applied to Wharton, I have to assume that undergrad biz was his priority. (or, is he changing his mind, now?) If not, he’s off to Philly.
If business is the passion, go for Wharton. If your son is interested in a broader education with exploration and looking at the humanities, the edge probably goes to Columbia
@privatebanker@bluebayou@scalable - Thank you! Only three days left and he still says he can’t decide. None of us ever dreamed he would end up with such incredible options!
The problem is that he really isn’t sure what he wants to pursue or what he wants to do after college. He’s very creative and energetic, and he has a huge range of interests. He applied broadly, and I wouldn’t say business is any more of a passion than, say, philosophy. (Wharton and Olin were the only undergraduate business programs to which he applied.)
Here are my concerns about Wharton:
He’s never had any business/finance classes before (although he has a little bit of practical experience in entrepreneurship/non-profit start-up). He attends a liberal arts high school. Will he start out “behind” other students in the JWS program?
Would a Wharton degree pigeon-hole him too much (or at all)?
Wharton’s package has $3500 of work study included, whereas the Columbia program doesn’t have any at all for the first two years. I thought $3500 sounded like a lot for a full-time student in an intense academic environment. (It’s significantly more than our older son has at another meets-needs school.) Would there be any time for extracurricular activities/downtime?
Hi. To answer your question, no - he won’t be behind anyone.
No one is coming in with finance expertise. It’s the same ap class type profiles. Cal bc and physics etc
However, your next question is a good one. It’s not an exorbitant amount of work study. Some think it’s a good thing as it invests them in the process. Others rightfully would say the opposite. It takes away from the amount of downtime and study time.
If he is not sure about what he wants, that’s an interesting twist.
Wharton won’t stereotype him for life in a negative way all, you have to do something eventually and people will respect his education.
However Columbia is an interesting school and in a better location. There’s the fashion, advertising, tech and heck the UN in NYC outside of the “Street”.
This new information and a gut feeling is telling me to reverse my earlier recommendation. I would suggest -Columbia - might offer the best blend.
Perhaps his reluctance is born out of the fact he actually prefers Columbia, the world is telling him to attend Wharton.
Ultimately, this decision will not impact his success, opportunities or happiness. He will have wonderful things ahead, either way.
But it’s like having a crush on two wonderful people at the same time. You can’t have both.
You really should have him think about who is the most compatible for the four years they’ll spend together and not the one everyone else thinks is a little bit prettier.
@privatebanker Thanks so much—those are great points! I read your response to him, and he seemed to find it pretty helpful. Still no final decision, but he said he was zeroing in on one of them. We don’t know which one. One more day…
Honestly, I don’t think there is a bad choice here. He will do great at either school. Perhaps put both names in a hat and have him draw one out. If he is happy with what he draws, then that is where is heart is.
The Wharton undergrad program is not a liberal arts education per se. Sure, you take core classes the first two years, but the latter two are mostly a business core, your concentration classes and a few electives thrown in, which can be in the College (A&S). But the last two years are taking classes like law, ethics, marketing, ops mgmt, QA. The Wharton program , esp finance, is heavy on math. The Columbia program, I would assume, is within the A&S college, and I would therefore assume it to be more of a liberal arts education with the opportunity to take a wider breadth of classes. The business school at Columbia is a graduate program only, so I don’t know how much opportunity there is for undergrads to take classes in the BS, if that is important to him.
Thanks, @W84Quaker! LOL @maybearobot —that’s the way I used to make tough decisions as a kid. How I felt after the draw was always revealing.
He told us this morning he was ready to reveal his decision tonight. However, a few hours ago Columbia revised their financial aid offer and is now essentially free. Wharton is not free and also has the work study component. Husband forwarded the Columbia information to Penn to see whether they would match. If Wharton is what DS decided, then this could be a little stressful. If he decided on Columbia, it will be icing on the cake! He won’t be home until later this evening…
It’s a tough decision because your description of your son’s interests suggests that Columbia University may be the better option simply because he is not dead set on being a business major.
Also, after finishing undergraduate school & working for a few years, he may want to pursue an MBA at Wharton, Harvard, Stanford, Columbia, or Northwestern.
There is no wrong decision.
@BirdintheHand : Would you be willing to share the schools to which your son was accepted & rejected ? If so, please feel free to message me as you may want to keep this confidential. I ask because I may have some long term suggestions.
P.S. Another perspective: Since he is undecided on a major and undecided on a career path, Penn-Wharton will solve both of those issues in a very lucrative fashion.
He would have to take the Columbia Core to get a degree at Columbia, which includes science, literature, art, music, history and physical education. He should look over the Columbia Core classes to be sure he wants to take those sorts of classes.
Penn just notified us that the financial aid award has been adjusted, but he doesn’t see anything updated in the portal yet. He’s on his way home now and says he’s ready for the big reveal!
@Coloradomama He does like those sorts of classes, and if he chooses Wharton, he will probably take the maximum number of CAS classes possible. That’s part of why the decision has been hard for him.
The big reveal was…Columbia! I’m surprised, and I’m so excited that he’s got so many possibilities ahead of him! Plus, you can’t beat free! Thanks, everyone!
