Intl Applicant Needing Help: Duke Robertson vs Wharton/Stanford vs Oxford

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Pennsylvania
1

<p>Hey guys,</p>

<p>As the title suggests, I'm an international applicant from Victoria, Australia, looking to study overseas but not sure where to go! Currently, I have been accepted via SCEA to study at Stanford, and at Oxford University (Economics and Management). I am also a finalist for the Duke Robertson Scholarship, and am awaiting a regular decision result from UPenn's Wharton School. With only a couple of days between Robertson acceptances and decisions, I was hoping to get some advice now about the best route to take if I am fortunate enough to be successful. I know this is a blessed position to be in, and please be assured that I am by no means complaining! I just want to make the right decision!</p>

<p>Personal Goals</p>

<p>Currently, I see myself pursuing a career in consulting and am aiming to join one of the top consulting firms. As such, I obviously want my college of choice to aid me, or at the very least not hinder me, in pursuing that ambition. It is notable that, I will probably want to work for at least 1 year after college, in the country where I studied and then, either remain there permanently or return to work in Australia.</p>

<p>I also want to undertake postgraduate study either through the Rhodes Scholarship to Oxford (if i'm atrociously lucky enough to be selected), or with an MBA at the top business schools of the US.</p>

<p>Traits </p>

<p>I am of Indian heritage, but was born and raised in Australia.</p>

<p>As an individual, I am quite academically passionate and would relish opportunities to conduct research, particularly in areas of economics, finance and management, which are my key academic interests. Implicit in that, I guess, is that I am someone who enjoys close interaction and access to faculty members.</p>

<p>I am also quite community-service oriented and I wish to have opportunities for strong social leadership as part of my college experience. That said, I am also quite entrepreneurial and so I want to be part of a community of like-minded and like-motivated individuals.</p>

<p>I am a passionate sports supporter! I just really enjoy sports atmospheres and the ability of sports to unify student bodies!</p>

<p>I am hoping for a relatively strong social scene, too, but not a pressured, alcohol culture. (That said, I also want to be able to achieve a studious environment when I need it!! My Australian college friends tell me they really struggle to do work...)</p>

<p>Other Personal Info</p>

<p>My mum has a lot of family in the United States, particularly centred around San Jose, California and Princeton, New Jersey, so family trips to the US are fairly reliable. However, if I went to oxford, there would be about $5000 dollars worth of flights that wouldn't otherwise occur.</p>

<p>My parents earn about A$500,000 per year in pre-tax wages. They want me to make the decision independent of finances, but I think it's probably still a valid consideration, particularly as they are already paying A$40,000 per year to send my brother to high-school in Australia. I would be paying full fees at Stanford (approx. US$66k all expenses), Wharton (approx. US$60k all expenses) and Oxford (approx. A$46,000 all expenses - NOTE: 3 years rather than 4).</p>

2

<p>These are all great schools. I would say any of them will be a great choice. Regarding your interest in sports and family link, Stanford would probably stand up as top choice. Robertson scholar is a tough one to pass by.</p>

<p>Congratulations in all your amazing acceptances.</p>

3

<p>I think you should go with the Robertson. It seems to fit your personality quite well, being leadership oriented and academic. And duke has an amazing sports program and strong social scene. In my opinion, and i cant be sure if this is true, if you are a top student at duke (and you sound like you will be), your employability probsbly wont vary much between duke and the others. in fact, having a prestigious scholarship to your name might even make you more employable, partiuclarly as you exploits the robertson alumni network and duke’s network too (which is pretty strong, finance-wise). Additionally, im sure the Robertson wud be a good launching pad for the rhodes, although the rhodes is so selective that this is not something to make your college decision on.That said,I don’t know about the alcohol culture or about dukes international reputation.</p>

<p>Still 240k for a negligible (if any) difference in education quality, and thus mostly for prestige which you can get anyway if u do the planned post graduate study, seems excessive.</p>

<p>My 2c</p>

4

<p>If you want more responses I would advise you repost this more concisely. In fact here, I’ll do you a favour:</p>

<p>University: DUKE ROBERTSON, STANFORD, WHARTON, OXFORD.</p>

<p>Short term ambitions: study economics and finance and get a good job with a top consulting firm.</p>

<p>Long term ambitions: post graduate study at oxford with Rhodes, or at US business school for MBA.</p>

<p>Personality: academic focus, entrepreneurial, social but not an alcohol lover, sports fan, strong community consciousness.</p>

<p>Other: family in the US near Stanford and relatively close to Wharton. Pretty wealthy (but not enough for fees not be a consideration) and therefore would need to pay full fees to all schools except, obviously, for the duke scholarship</p>

5

<p>Oxford. It is absolutely unparalleled education, not to mention the connections you’ll have by the time you graduate.</p>

6

<p>Agree with the pp that your self-description is too long, but Oxford is definitely the way to go if you are pretty sure about consulting. The big firms recruit very heavily from there- starting in 1st year they offer boot camps (so that they can size up the candidates for the summer after 2nd year). The method of learning at Oxford is very like consultancy: you work on your own A LOT, you have to get up to speed with new material really quickly and (at least in a subject like E&M) you write write write. The consultancies know that Oxford students work very intensively, which is how consultants work. Would suggest Oxford for undergrad and then a name-brand US uni for post-grad. With those two you will be able to do anything, anywhere in the world.</p>

7

<p>Disagree with ^ for social reasons. All of these offers give you a great chance do get involved in the best firms, but only if you succeed at a high level in college (which I’m sure you will). I bet that you will succeed the most, however, at a place where you feel comfortable socially. Duke and Stanford seem to match the best, although Penn has a great social atmosphere too. If you get the Rob scholarship, I say take Duke…you will receive close attention and it is a fantastic school. If not, I say take Stanford. The place where you are happiest is also where you will succeed academically.</p>

8

<p>Apart from the money, everything in your self-description points to Stanford. It reads like an explanation of why you are choosing Stanford over other opportunities.</p>

<p>I agree with others that Duke is close enough to Stanford in the things you are about so that the Robertson Scholarship – not just the money, but also the prestige and special opportunities that come with it – would probably tip the balance to Duke.</p>

9

<p>Bottom line, these are all superb schools, so you really can’t go wrong whichever you end up selecting.</p>

<p>However, as you think about your decision, I’ll throw in one factor to consider from my personal experience that you may want to marry with your personal learning preferences. I was undergrad @ Oxford and grad @ Wharton. IMHO, the single best educational experience I encountered was the tutorial system @ Oxford. The opportunity to present/debate 1-on-1 or 2-on-1 with a leading mind in your chosen field of study on a regular basis is both terrifying and transformative and something I have treasured ever since. This experience is very hard to find @ the undergraduate level in the U.S. (Williams College is one of the few colleges to offer it, I believe). Oxford also expects you to take personal responsibility for your development over the course of your studies there, with an emphasis on university examinations at the end of your 3/4 year course. Wharton was amazing too, but is a much more structured learning environment (lecture, group work, multiple mid-term exams and final exams in each subject each semester). If you prefer more freedom and responsibility I’d recommend Oxford. If you prefer more structure I’d recommend Wharton.</p>

<p>I’m really not qualified to offer any opinion on Stanford or Duke. </p>

<p>Good luck!</p>