<p>I've been a committed Wharton hopeful for the past year, but now, when it is time to write college essays and fill out applications, I'm getting cold feet about applying early decision.</p>
<p>I live in California and have never been to the east coast besides once when I visted Boston for a week. Needless to say, I've never once set foot on UPenn's campus. </p>
<p>Come fall, I will be applying to UC Berkeley, Columbia, UCLA, NYU, and Wharton. [Maybe more, I don't know yet]. I've only been to Berkeley and LA. Of course, I love the vibes there. Berkeley has Haas, which is also a very good business school. It is also much cheaper than Wharton [51k a year?!?! I could buy myself a Mercedes!] and would be relatively easier for me to get into because I live in CA. On the other hand, I have been receiving a lot of mail from Columbia, constantly introducing myself to their school and majors, etc. If I were to go there, I'm considering majoring in Economics-Statistics, because I have a strong foundation in Stats and am interested in Economy. Plus, they don't have an undergrad business school. </p>
<p>So...to make a long story short, I am just really unsure of whether I should be applying ED to Wharton or not...
It has been my dream school for so long, representing the zenith of all undergrad business schools, but I am now just beginning to realize that despite all my time spent obsessing, I don't really know THAT much about Wharton besides the statistics and general info that can be found easily online. I am extremely scared that IF I were fortunate enough to be accepted to Wharton, I would go and find out it is not how I thought it would be, and then be stuck there for 4 years.</p>
<p>I just wanted to take this opportunity to try to get some insight about what Penn [or Wharton, for that matter] is REALLY like. Is it as competitive as everyone makes it seem? Are people there actually that snooty?</p>
<p>Well, you could try to apply ED. If you get admitted and you find out u don't like wharton a year later, then you could transfer to other schools.</p>
<p>I think the East Coast/West Coast thing is a fairly big deal. If there is any way at all you could visit (really anywhere over here) before November that would be..great.</p>
<p>Penn is competitive, but not in a obnoxious, cutthroat way. People are obviously driven, but you'll find that at any top school. I don't think people here are snooty. Well, not as much as we're stereotyped to be. Probably more than you're used to. The East has more of a history of classism than the West though, or it's just more established. Another consideration is this- do you know where you ultimately want to live? If you plan to live on the East Coast after college, Wharton is without a doubt the best preparation for business here. If you want to live in CA..well, it's still a better school than Haas, but I think it would matter less.</p>
<p>I agree with everything jelly88 said. I think it's described very fairly and accurately even down to the degrees. The place is not snooty and competition does not get negatively cutthroat. Wharton is worth going to the East Coast and paying more money. You'll be glad when you are looking for a job in 2012.</p>
<p>I think there is a deep down superiority Wharton students feel over the College but it's kept far below the surface. You would never notice that in overt interaction. Everyone interacts just the same, but the reality of Penn is that part of your identification comes from what school you go to. Everyone is identified in the daily school paper as "John Smith, a College sophomore, said ...."</p>
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<p>If you want to live in CA..well, it's still a better school than Haas, but I think it would matter less.</p>
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<p>I will disagree with this, however. Wharton is less common on the West Coast, but all business types know it and recognize it as the premium, gold-standard program. I think it would be knockdown distinguishing to see a Wharton resume when you mostly see Berkeley, LA, or SD.</p>
<p>Thanks so much for all the advice you guys!
I think it's calmed my nerves down a bit :)</p>
<p>Crescent, I completely agree with you. I used poor wording. What I meant was...if you want to live on the East Coast, Wharton is without a doubt the best choice. If you want to live on the West Coast, and prefer the atmosphere/price of UCLA, then that makes the decision more of a toss-up.</p>