<p>Which would be better for jobs after college? I have no idea what I want to do after college, but it would be something in the business area (consulting, investment banking, etc.), and if it helps I would be planning on getting an MBA later too. Assuming I get into these schools (which may or may not end up being true), which would be better? Economics at Penn/Vandy/Tufts or finance at Michigan/Virginia/UNC (of course the business schools of these colleges)? Thanks in advance.</p>
<p>You said econ at Penn. Could you do finance at Penn? That would be the best out of all of those by far.</p>
<p>There’s no doubt that doing finance at Wharton would be the best possible option, but I don’t think I would get in. I have ok grades (for Penn) , good scores, great ECs, and I’m a legacy at Penn but I don’t think I would have much of a shot at Wharton. While in a perfect world I would go there, I don’t think it’s a viable option for myself.</p>
<p>bump…</p>
<p>Take a couple classes in each first and then decide which career path later. But from your list I would do Econ at Penn.</p>
<p>Thanks for the response. At Penn I’d have to decide whether I wanted to do econ or finance pretty much at the time I apply. Transferring into Wharton through the College of Arts and Sciences is extremely tough, I hear only about 35 students (out of 6,400 in the College) a year do it.</p>
<p>bump!</p>
<p>10chars</p>
<p>Econ at Penn is better than business at a lesser school.</p>
<p>I agree that econ at Penn would be the best on that list based purely on career opportunities. You might want to take into account though that the curriculum may be better suited for you, and you’ll experience more success at a top undergrad b-school though.</p>
<p>Thanks hkem, I’ll look into the curriculum. I think I will be ok with Penn econ because Penn is often characterized as pre-professional, or practical. I prefer the practical over the abstract, which is why I’d like to go to a b-school (excluding at Penn). I figure at most colleges, a degree in finance will be more practical than a degree in econ. However, since Penn is practical, I imagine their econ program will be ok for me too. I don’t have any specific information to back this theory up, but that’s what I’m thinking at the moment.</p>
<p>Don’t you think that finance at Ross is better than econ at Penn?</p>
<p>I honestly don’t know, that’s why I’m asking. If they are around the same caliber I would probably choose Penn anyways.</p>
<p>This is some good discussion. I’m interested in finding out the same thing.</p>
<p>Plus, OP, you’ve got to consider that you haven’t gotten into Penn yet. Even though it’s not Wharton, it’s still a competitive school. </p>
<p>How about AEM at Cornell? I’ve heard that’s great prep.</p>
<p>[Career</a> Services, University of Pennsylvania](<a href=“http://www.vpul.upenn.edu/careerservices/undergrad/majors/econ.html#fin]Career”>http://www.vpul.upenn.edu/careerservices/undergrad/majors/econ.html#fin)</p>
<p>Isaiahstock thanks for the reply, and I know Penn is very tough to get in. I’m generating this discussion because I want to be sure that when I apply ED next year I will be making the best possible choice. </p>
<p>@hkem123 thanks for finding that. Those finance/consulting jobs look good to me. I’m really surprised that only one of the econ majors got an MBA. It’s also interesting how many of them went to law/med school.</p>
<p>Another question, is it possible to break into investment banking with a degree in econ?</p>
<p>" I’m really surprised that only one of the econ majors got an MBA. It’s also interesting how many of them went to law/med school."</p>
<p>That’s because it’s a list of where they went right after graduating from UPenn. People go to law/med school straight out of undergrad, but doing an MBA straight from undergrad is extremely uncommon. </p>
<p>And yes there were investment banking positions on that list.</p>
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<p>Absolutely, Econ is probably the most common major in investment banking.</p>
<p>Thanks angryelf. And hkem I completely forgot about that, I know it is common to get a few years of work experience before getting an MBA.</p>
<p>angryelf forgot to mention that it has to be from the Ivy league school; otherwise you won’t get into IB, unless you have some strong connections. Nowadays, the school you go to is more important than your major. There are many examples, and econ is one of them.</p>
<p>Sometimes I wonder what would happen to the degree in economics if Ivy and other top schools did not offer it.</p>