<p>Maybe someone from Penn can help with this question.
Son is very much considering applying ED to Penn but confused about which college to apply to. He is very interested in music business-recording producer, agent…something relating to working in the music industry. He has been very involved in theater and all kinds of vocal performances for years (ALL State, all theater groups, chorus, piano etc) but thinks he wants to be in the business end of the industry right now. He was all set to apply to Wharton with their dual concentration in marketing and communications and possibly minoring in music. Now he is not sure whether he should consider applying to the college with a communications/music/econ combination. While a Wharton degree may open up many employment and networking opportunities, is it “too” business and not enough on the creative focus. Would he be better off going through the college where he can take several disciplines and possibly even a class or two at Wharton. This may also allow him to network through several depts (drama, music, communications etc) and may even give him more time to pursue some of these activities which he hopes to continue in college. Any thoughts? We know Penn doen’t have a music business major such as Miami, NYU or USC, but he loves every thing about Penn.-just not sure which way to apply. Any thoughts would be appreciated.</p>
<p>come on people-22 of u have looked at this post and not one has given any opinion!!! Bump, bump......please!!</p>
<p>Interesting questions and I will gladly share what I know that may be of help to you but your one statement is puzzling. "Too much business"? Wharton is business. I personally can understand you son wanting to do Mask & Wig while at Penn or other "artistic" interests but Wharton is all about business. I cannot imagine that your son cannot find some way to gain entry into the music business w/ Wharton credentials.....I mean Steve Wynn is right there in Las Vegas and many artsy types are basing out of there these days....own theatres and all. </p>
<p>What part of too much business do you mean? How do you see Econ getting you help with the industry? I mean Wharton does award a BS/Econ but you are talking a different thing from SAS.</p>
<p>I think my mom (AudiB) was talking about the whole intense-business atmosphere at UPenn. I've heard of the Wharton kids being the "briefcase carrying, suit wearing" people who continually look at their stock portfolios in their free time. I know I'm going to get massacred for saying that rumor - but I thought I'd put it out there and see ur responses. Also, the thing my mom meant about "too much business" I think revolves around the fact that I always used to be looking at conservatories and BFA programs for theater and music and never considered the business side of music management... so I'm not a HUGE fan of finance, accounting, statistics - i'd be able to get by but it is definitely NOT the reason I live each day if you know what I mean. Will I be an "outcast" if I were to attend Wharton with this attitude.? Not that I have a bad one, but I won't necessarily be enthralled by the lectures on global economics or basic accounting etc. etc.</p>
<p>I think Wharton is a better choice for the reasons stated above. When you're in Wharton, you can still go after the other topics you like, including music. Many people in Wharton do seek other intellectual or "artsy" (if you will) majors in the College.</p>
<p>It seems to me that Wharton may be too intensely focused on the aspects of business that you would rather not deal with. Look into the Music Business program at NYU. I hear its stellar</p>
<p>from ur comments u all make it seem like the kids at Wharton are like the rumor i stated above.... is this true?</p>
<p>idk i dont go there, but this is prolly not the case, no stereotype holds up 100 percent of the time, but it always has some basis for its creation</p>
<p>No that sterotype does not hold up even 15% of the time. If you're walking in the campus, you won't be able to tell who's Wharton and who's not just by looks. If you talk to someone, you might have a better guess but still it's not like that you described. People between schools get along pretty well..</p>
<p>A couple of points that havent been made yet:
1. Penn is known for seeking out people who really want to go there applying ED is a big advantage. Wharton is more difficult to get into than the College of Arts and Sciences. If you are convinced Penn is the school for you (and without knowing any of your stats) you have the best chance of acceptance applying ED to the College. You should not, however, view this as a backdoor way of getting into Wharton internal transfer spots are very limited. So if you apply ED to the College, you should be comfortable with the idea of NOT getting a Wharton degree. If you apply ED to the dual degree program, I believe that you can indicate CAS as a back-up; I dont know how this affects your ultimate chances of getting into CAS vs applying directly to CAS via ED.</p>
<ol>
<li>Your questions seem to me to be excellent ones to pose directly to Penn faculty and/or adcom for your region. They can give you a feel for what your curriculum/course of study would be in either alternative (and possibly your chances as well), and you can think about what seems right for you. Identifying possible faculty mentors would also strengthen your application - one of the application questions this year is about what faculty member youd most like to study with and why. Could you set up a visit to the school with the idea of talking to people (students AND faculty) in your areas of interest? I suspect there is no better way to answer your questions than some on-the-spot experiential data gathering. Meeting a few Wharton students in person also might help you determine where the stereotype holds up and/or breaks down better than CC responses from Whartonistas who laudably love and advocate for their school.</li>
</ol>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>I've responded to your and your mom's posts in other sections but I'll respond here as well since you're asking again.</p>
<p>I knew coming in that there was no way I would ever do anything related to Finance or Accounting - and there is NOTHING wrong with that. Sure, you need to go through the core as every other Wharton student does, but even if you never take another Finance or Accounting class again (like me) the basic fundamentals are still useful. 40% of the class doesn't concentrate in Finance or go into Finance, so you're not an outcast by any means. I think that the fact that you want to do something different with your degree sets you apart in the Wharton pool. </p>
<p>I hate that people think that Wharton is full of briefcase carrying, suit wearing students. During recruiting, yes people wear suits because you HAVE TO for an interview. During presentations, yes people will sometimes wear suits depending on the class and how much the presentation is worth, how big it is, etc. During the other 99% of your time in college, NO. And I have never ever seen anyone carrying a briefcase who is not a faculty member.</p>
<p>The best thing about Wharton is that it's the kind of degree that can lead you into any career. Very different from the range of opportunities that being a music major could offer you. And your college experience will be what you make of it - if you want to join theater groups, a capella groups, or performing arts groups, you just do it. Fortunately Penn offers a ridiculous amount of the extra curriculars you are interested in, so it wouldn't be hard to do it at all. Just because you are a Wharton student in the classroom doesn't mean you have to bleed finance, accounting, and business outside of the classroom. I certainly did not, and I am glad that I didn't.</p>
<p>I have no idea if that helped or not...</p>
<p>it did a lot... thanks for your advice...</p>
<p>now the question is UPenn or Brown haha ... don't worry - no need to respond. that's one question i'm going to have to discover on my own. :-)</p>
<p>Thanks everyone for replying. I guess my original question dealt with would he be better off going Wharton or CAS for what he wants to do and it really seems a toss up. His stats are good, SATs and GPA high and his ECs are great-he knows he loves Brown and Penn, but for different reasons. He just has to decide which school and which program. Optimom-very good advice about going back and speaking to students/faculty. Thanks.</p>