<p>Interested in Investment Banking. Anyone else in the same situation?</p>
<p>Wharton is probably the best feeder program to IB the world; if you’re certain about going into that field you should choose it.</p>
<p>@HouseGeneral… don’t listen to JellyKSong. I was in the same situation as you 3 years ago, chose Harvard Econ and am now very involved in the finance scene here (president of one of the major clubs). The bottom line is every major investment bank interviews at Harvard and Wharton and employs dozens (if not hundreds) of alums. If going into banking is your long run goal, its very very close to equal between the two. At Harvard you might join a finance club and take a few finance-y classes (Capital Markets, corporate finance, etc.), and with a little effort and a good GPA you would be at the top of the pool here in terms of preparation and be all set to work at a top bank with little difficulty. At Wharton, being at the top of the pool takes much more effort… everyone enrolling knows they want to do I-Banking right away. </p>
<p>That aside, all of the intangibles favor Harvard in my opinion. Other departments are amazing, students have more diverse interests, location is better, student life is more relaxed, etc. Just my two cents, feel free to PM me (or just reply here) if you have any other questions about finance (or anything else) at Harvard.</p>
<p>Thank you! I also want to visit a 3rd choice: Duke, Dartmouth, Cornell, Northwestern, Berkeley?</p>
<p>All great schools, congrats! I really don’t have a comparative advantage when it comes to telling you where to visit on those ones. I’ve only visited Cornell and that was while I was in school. All I will say is that those are incredibly diverse schools… if you’re undecided between them for a visit that would seem to imply that your decision is being made wholly based on which school would be better for I-Banking. On that metric alone, Harvard and Wharton are head and shoulders above the rest. Both are targeted heavily from recruiters at virtually every major firm. The other schools, while all great, are not as heavily targeted and may tend to be more regional in their career pulls: Berkeley is probably a great place for banking in Cali but less so (though still good) for banking in NYC, likewise for the rest (Northwestern=>Chicago, etc.). </p>
<p>So again, if you’re making a decision based on Banking H and W are the only choices to make (unless you are interested in living on the West Coast). If there are other factors then it may well be worth it to visit another place but I can’t suggest where to go without knowing what those factors are.</p>
<p>At $60K/yr, I’m trying to be logical in my college decision, only letting emotions come into play if my choices are close. So, what would my top 3 to visit be?</p>
<p>As I said above, I can’t really tell you without knowledge of your preferred geography. Berkeley=>Cali, Duke=>Charlotte, Dartmouth=>NYC, Northwestern=>Chicago. If the visiting choice is all based on Bankability, then your third choice is based on which of the above cities you’d like to live/work in. Let me know if you have any other questions, and good luck!</p>