<p>To address the two-year program issue, if you are smart enough to get into UVA Arts & Sciences and Wharton straight out of high school, then you will get accepted into McIntire with no problem. The kids who get rejected from the Comm School have screwed up in some way; do your work, and you will get accepted.</p>
<p>I graduated from McIntire in 2006, so I am certainly biased in my opinion. However, here are a few reasons to choose UVA over UPENN:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>You will have the same job opportunities coming out of both schools. All the major investment banks, smaller banks, consulting firms, accounting companies, etc. recruit on grounds at UVA. I was a middle of the road McIntire student, and I had 35 on grounds interviews during my fourth year, and received 8 job offers (4 NY, 4 DC).</p></li>
<li><p>Studying in the Arts & Sciences school for two years is a positive thing. You can take some very interesting classes, have the ability to double major(or minor), plus you would still be taking the prerequisite business school classes (2 accounting, 2 econ, statistics, etc.).</p></li>
<li><p>The student body is more well rounded at UVA. While UPENN is a top school, I find that the Wharton students have the reputation of being extremely intense and cut-throat when it comes to their school work. McIntire kids of course care a lot and want to succeed, but I feel that there is a real laid back atmosphere here.</p></li>
<li><p>The overall school is more fun. Forget about business for a second. UVA has ACC athletics (awesome football and basketball games), a gorgeous campus, and relatively warm weather. If you want a true college town, you can’t go wrong with Charlottesville. When I think of “the American College experience,” I think of UVA. Great school, great party scene, big time sports, attractive student body. It just doesn’t get any better.</p></li>
<li><p>Graduating from Wharton does not mean you will have less of a chance of needing an MBA down the road. That is just ridiculous. This depends on the individual and the work experience one gets coming out of college. Both schools send kids to the same firms.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>OK, I am done ranting. Obviously you can’t go wrong with UPENN, but for me personally, I would choose UVA 10 times out of 10 over PENN.</p>