<p>I’m trying to decide between Wharton and a non-Ivy, much smaller college, which also has a business school, in the Midwest. </p>
<p>I’ve been told that Wharton, specifically, is extremely competitive and difficult–that they try to “weed out” people. </p>
<p>I’m wondering two things: 1. In your opinion, should I choose the smaller college (where I have a much better chance of being at the top of the class)? I plan on going into law school, and I’m afraid if I do poorly at Wharton, I’ll ruin my chances of entering a competitive grad school. 2. How cutthroat is UPenn, really, and how much studying is needed?</p>
<p>Bump. Same here! Dilemma: I could stay in my country, and get TOP grades, and then apply to a top graduate school in the US. I know it is feasible, since many people from my city, who have graduated here (as Bachelors), have gotten into Harvard Business School. Or, I could go to Penn, but I have NO IDEA of how good my grades will be, and if they are average/low, will I risk my chances of getting into a top graduate school?</p>
<p>Guys, business school doesnt really require top grades, its not like med school. I know plenty of people at the top 5 MBA schools with GPAs in the 3.2-3.5 range. </p>
<p>Business school doesn't require top grades but your life is certainly made easier if you have them--you have fewer worries re: if and where you'll get in and what you'll do if you don't get into a top school after wharton undergrad etc.</p>
<p>Wharton is competitive but its definitely possible to get top grades--if you are aiming to have a 3.7-3.8+ its certainly do-able and I definitely wouldn't choose a different, smaller school just based on the assumption that you won't get a high GPA at Wharton. If you're thinking of law school, the Wharton name will help you out a lot when you're looking for law firm jobs; its a rarity--most graduating attys were psych or poli sci or maybe econ majors. Coming from wharton you're regarded as someone who understands what businesses need to remain functional--especially helpful if you go into transactional law, corporate litigation etc. </p>
<p>Once you get to wharton, you'll figure out what study methods work for you. For people at wharton whose gpas aren't as high as they would have wished coming into college, its not because they aren't capable, its because they either don't put in enough time or haven't found a good study routine. Lots of wharton classes, particularly finance, have a good deal of group work. You'll find that a lot of people don't put a lot of time into those cases and problem sets to learn how to do the financial analysis. They feel they're working hard because they attend all the group meetings, but once a 'group leader' emerges who really gets the concept and can do the project pretty quickly, they're content to sit back and let that person find the answers, without even asking how the valuation is done, whether it could be done differently etc. Getting good grades at wharton is about being proactive--when you're doing finance problems, think about how you should structure the analysis, think about why structuring it a different way would be right/wrong. If you do your HW actively, come exam time, its a lot easier to spot the trick questions.</p>
<p>Its not like you have to study 24-7 to do well. Many people do very well by studying a solid 2-3 hours a night, w/o IM, internet, phone calls etc, starting about 2 weeks before a midterm. If you're in class about 3 hrs a day, doing reading for next days classes for about 2 hrs and then spend 2-3 hrs studying for a midterm thats 2 weeks away--that's only 8 hrs of your day, leaving plenty of time to go out, hang out with roommates, watch TV etc.</p>
<p>PM me if you have other questions. And don't pass up Wharton just because of GPA concerns.</p>
<p>What about going to SEAS, and then going not neccesarily to business school (although it is a possibility, but I just mentioned it as an example), but also to science/engineering graduate school, or even medicine? Does the same advice still apply?</p>
<p>thank you aj, your information is excellent.....im glad to hear all this stuff about wharton....if it isnt private, what was your gpa (and how hard was it to earn?)</p>
<p>The Wharton undergraduate program is four years. Upon completion, you earn a B.S. in economics (you also have the opportunity to major or minor in other fields.)</p>