<p>My friend has been accepted to all three and is facing a very tough dilemma. Wharton is quite simply the best undergrad B-school (regardless of whatever fanciful ranking it is assigned by bloomberg business week) but Stanford seems to be the school of the future. Harvard is Harvard, always has been and always will be.</p>
<p>Does anyone else feel that this shift from the Ivies to Stanford is actually PALPABLE (e.g. I can physically feel it)? The Bay Area and venture capital/innovation seem to be the new best-scenario post-collegiate paradigm for students, away from traditional lucrative sectors like PE and MBB consulting which are slowly but surely losing their former luster.</p>
<p>I am not sure what to tell my friend; I am a Wharton undergraduate. If his choice were Penn CAS/SEAS vs. Stanford, then there's no comparison and I would recommend Stanford 100 % (just being blunt and straightforward) but he's interested in business and strategy consulting.</p>
<p>It's a nice problem to have, but nevertheless, a problem. Your thoughts are much appreciated.</p>
<p>If he’s interested in just business–as opposed to business and engineering–then Wharton is easily the peer of the other two schools. And I wouldn’t write off Wharton and the Ivies too quickly–they’ve been around for CENTURIES, and seem to have weathered lots of technological and social change quite well. And in terms of entrepreneurship, you probably already know this being at Wharton, but Wharton offers one of the oldest and most comprehensive programs of entrepreneurial research and study in the WORLD:</p>
<p>While not necessarily as tech-focussed as Stanford, it shouldn’t be dismissed. And Wharton was one of the leading business schools in the world LONG before the PE, BB banking, and MBB consulting crazes of the last two or three decades (lots of leaders of industry, media, etc. have come out of Wharton), and there’s no reason to think that it won’t remain a world leader for decades and centuries to come.</p>
<p>Bottom line? I’d recommend that your friend pick the school at which he believes he’d be happiest, taking into account the entire package of academics, location, campus and campus life, etc. With schools at this level of eminence (one of Amy’s favorite words ), the rest will take care of itself.</p>
<p>(Just an addendum-I realize he cannot go wrong with any of the three, and he asked me a while ago so I’m not sure by when he has to decide. FYI he is an international).</p>
<p>Wow, I was in almost the exact same situation for grad school with an additional school in the mix! If I were you, I would probably pick Penn or Stanford for undergrad. The undergrads I have met from Stanford are very happy and the campus is beautiful. There are also tons of resources not available at most places. I think Harvard would be good to, but I get the impression that the grad students are much happier than the undergrads. If you choose Wharton, I would do so because you like Penn and Philadelphia as a whole, not just what Wharton provides. Penn is so much more than Wharton and I think it’s really a shame people don’t see that.</p>
<p>Your friend has three great choices, all of which will give them a strong leg up versus most other schools out there. I’d say:</p>
<p>—Want to settle on the west coast, then choose Stanford
—After that it’s a very close 1-2-3, but I’d rank Stanford or Harvard slightly ahead of Wharton for undergrad</p>
), the rest will take care of itself.</p>