Help Me Decide: UPenn Wharton (BEPP) vs Harvard (Econ/Gov)

College Search & Selection
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Hello, and apologies for the double post! I meant to edit my previous one but accidentally deleted it instead. I was lucky enough to be accepted into two amazing schools and the decision is shaping out to be way harder than I expected- any advice is appreciated!

General Info/Criteria I’m not sure which school is better for
Both schools should be similar in cost, unless I successfully appeal my EFC to Harvard (it was 25k/year lower in their calculator, which is so. much. money. If you have advice on that please let me know as well). I’m currently most interested in public policy and economics, and I am considering law school or a masters in public policy (if I go very econ focused as an undergrad) in the future. A strong music community is very important to me, as I definitely want to keep playing piano throughout college and really want to try acapella as well. Finally, I’m a bit worried about being swayed by peers into the consulting/finance/banking sector jobs both schools seem to funnel their kids into. I’d like to say I have a clear enough vision for my future for my classmates to not influence me, but the reality is they probably will (and I have absolutely nothing against people who go into these sectors, I just really can’t see myself feeling fulfilled about it), and I’m not sure at which school I’ll have a better chance of staying the hopeless dreamer I am.

Harvard
Pros:

  • Have been to Boston/Cambridge many times in multiple seasons, love the city
  • Much easier to switch concentrations if I completely change my mind in two years
  • Actual econ, way more rigorous than Wharton business econ
  • Secondary concentration in gov would give me good policy education
  • Know a number of pianists there + better pianist community there in general + possible NEC audition in freshman year (though I don’t think I have a realistic shot at getting in lol)
  • Better research opportunities overall I think, definitely better econ research + econometrics classes available to me
  • Kennedy School is obviously amazing for public policy and better than Penn, but I don’t know how much I can take advantage of it as an undergrad outside of enrolling in 1-2 classes

Cons:

  • The students and culture there are… really scary? I’m fine with grinding for academics/etc. but the idea of most social interaction being for the sake of networking/getting something out of each other is quite unpleasant of a thought
  • Mental health resources for POC and queer folks seem to suck
  • No piano lessons available through school
  • Farther away/less connected to DC if I want serious intern experience with policymakers/major think tanks there
  • I know I put econ rigor as a pro, but I also haven’t taken a real math class in three years :sweat_smile:

Wharton
Pros:

  • Would actually be taking public policy courses as part of concentration
  • Has a dedicated research + in depth study program for public policy (PPRS)
  • Alternatively I could do research through the Joseph Wharton Scholars honors program which sounds pretty cool? I literally just found out 5 minutes ago that I was invited for this and am not totally sure what it is yet
  • Could still take a number of real econ courses in CAS
  • Penn in Washington program offers a semester of classes + interning in DC which sounds amazing
  • The CAS students at Penn seem much more of my vibe than either Wharton or Harvard students, and I could hang out with them!!
  • Offers free music lessons for credit, and I’m reasonably certain I’d pass the audition

Cons:

  • Getting in depth economics education seems more important than in depth public policy education (both because a MPP on top of econ undergrad is way more feasible than vice versa, and bc of the depth of the two fields in general)
  • I thought business econ = econ when I applied, but it really isn’t, the classes don’t seem very rigorous
  • I’d have to take a number of business fundamental courses I’m not interested in at the moment
  • I don’t actually know a single pianist at Penn, and haven’t been able to contact any to ask questions
  • Probably wouldn’t transfer out of Wharton (family + my own images of prestige will probably lock me in even if I say otherwise right now to be honest), so not much room for error to change my mind about life
  • Haven’t heard much about mental health resources; diversity and queer-ness seems to be less than Harvard

Thank you so much in advance!

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Hmmm. Would I be wrong to say that neither of them seem to be your cup of tea? Lol, kidding of course. Sounds to me like your cons at Penn are stronger than your cons at Harvard. I honestly don’t know who the “typical” Harvard student is, which is probably the point. I suppose the typical Penn student stereotype is preprofessional, driven and competitive, though I’m sure not all students are like that.

As far as career possibilities, doors are going to be open for you regardless. I think you should choose on overall vibe. To me, I don’t see that as being Penn, so go for Harvard.

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There does not appear to be any clear answer because you have concerns which are not readily available for posters to research such as counseling services for specific characteristics & number of piano players in the community with whom you will form a meaningful connection.

Harvard versus Wharton typically comes down to one’s specific career goals. Since your career goals are unclear, you probably should base your decision on comfort.

Sorry that I cannot offer more definite advice, but both of your options should lead to outstanding opportunities professionally & with respect to graduate school.

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Are you saying right now that Harvard is $25K per year more than Penn? If so, have you filed an appeal with Harvard FA, sharing the Penn offer?

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If you want to have CAS students be your cohort, go to CAS. You don’t have to know only people from your program, but IRL if you are in Wharton that is mostly who you will know. Are Harvard and Wharton your only 2 (realistic) choices?

Mental health resources aren’t any better/worse at UPenn (or lots of other schools for that matter).

aahahahahaahahaa. Not a thing. You will only intern in DC during the summer, so proximity is not an issue. 100% Harvard is as “connected” with DC as Wharton, and will get you at least as many opps. Just look at the Harvard links in the leadership of pretty much every major think tank / policy group. There are people who say that you could get just as good an education in lots of other schools, but what your Harvard degree really gets you is connections.

IMO (since you are asking), Wharton really suits people who have a strong idea of the kind of (business) career they want, whereas Harvard better suits very ambitious students who are not necessarily as narrowly focused at this point.

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That makes a lot of sense and is basically how I sized up the schools vibe wise, lol. Thank you so much!

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Thats fair and I probably should’ve realized before posting, sorry! Thank you for your input regardless. I’ve been reading more about Wharton and it does sound even more pre-professional than I’d initially thought, so perhaps comfort wise it isn’t really my cup of tea.

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I royally messed up with sending my required documents for Penn’s financial aid, and thus am still waiting on my final offer. :sweat_smile: From both schools calculators, Penn would’ve been around $5K more expensive a year, but I’m not sure what the end result will be. Harvard gave me $25K/year less in aid than the calculator estimated. Should I wait for Penn’s offer before appealing with Harvard FA so I can compare the two to them, or go ahead and appeal first?

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Got it. I would start the appeal process with Harvard ASAP.

Is there anything obvious that may have been input incorrectly, or left out when you ran NPCs e.g, all assets, all parental and student income, etc.?

Some typical issues may arise where parents are divorced, not adding back 401K contributions to income, parents who own a business/investment real estate/multiple homes/farms…do any of these apply? Can you compare inputs on the NPC with those on CSS Profile? That will help you as you navigate the process.

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  1. aaah, good to know. Going to Wharton with the mindset of trying to be around mostly CAS students sounds not great in hindsight. I was waitlisted at UChicago, so could potentially send a LOCI to try and get off that, but I think most likely I will be choosing between one of these two schools.

  2. makes sense. :cry:

  3. hey, that’s one big concern out the window then! I’m not sure where I got the impression otherwise, but yay for connections.

I’m definitely more the latter type of student you described than the former, and I think my reasons for considering Penn are more for a few specific opportunities they have rather than the vibe of Wharton as a whole. Thank you for your detailed response, this was very helpful!

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If your real interests are econ and public policy vs being a pre-professional business/finance type, Harvard will offer better options. Also the students you will naturally take classes and socialize with will likely be more rounded and have a greater diversity in interests. That seems like a better 4 year experience based on your various pro/con factors.