Hello, Looking for some advice from those who have perhaps been in the same position… DS got into UDel Honors (Lerner Business) and also PSU Main Campus (not Smeal Business, but College of Liberal Arts, Econ). OOS but merit money makes it equal. Pros and cons? I know it’s a general question but would welcome any feedback regarding program, internships, mentoring and advising. Thank you.
@opallady I have no info on PSU or Lerner specifically, but my UD 2020 is in the Honors college (CompE). Honors has some good perks. Newer dorm in good location. Preference in housing picks for 2nd year if still on campus. They provide an upper class honors dorm, which my son loved. Preference for class selection. Smaller class sections in classes that offer an Honors section, 30ish vs large lecture. They also have some Honors college activities. His advisor is from his department, I don’t recall him having a special advisor, but there is an honors office students can utilize as well.
Net net, my son wouldn’t have chosen UD at all if he wasn’t selected for the Honors program and he still sticks by that opinion 2.5 years later.
He has done very well. Serious student who is not a partier but has found activities he enjoys and good friends. He sits up front and got involved with the department which lead to a research job. I don’t hear great stuff about the placement office and he found his summer 2019 internship on his own.
On the downside of UD, they are aggressively growing the student enrollment and a lot of building is planned over the next few years, which can be a distraction and inconvenience. This can also impact availability at registration but being honors can help offset that with the priority.
Go for a weekday accepted students day and ask tons of questions.
@opallady Congratulations to your son on the acceptances and merit money! My advice would be to choose the program that aligns with his long-term interests. Economics and business majors can lead to some of the same types of jobs (banking, finance, etc.). But business would be better if he is interested in a particular specialty, such as public accounting, marketing, operations research and information systems. A typical business program involves core business classes plus a concentration in one of these specialties. Public accounting, for example, requires a specific curriculum available through the business program. Economics has two broad fields - (1) microeconomics - the study of how supply, demand and market structure impact price and (2) macroeconomics - the study of how economic variables and government policy impact the overall economy. In my experience, most people that study economics undergrad do not go on for PhDs in economics or become serious economists. Instead, they often end up on the business side and earn MBAs. If he goes for economics, I would recommend taking as many accounting and finance courses as he can through the business school, and if he goes the business direction it doesn’t hurt to take some advanced economics courses. In my experience, non-business majors are often not able to enroll in upper level business courses due to space limits. Internship and company interview opportunities would probably be better through the business school rather than through the college of arts and sciences. Given the choice, I would choose the business program.at PSU.
For what it’s worth, my background is BSEE, BA economics, MBA in accounting, CFA, attended computational finance MS program and worked in banking for 26 years as a regulator, risk manager and product manager. My third child is a junior right now and trying to figure out what he wants to do. If he is interested in accounting, my advice to him would be to absolutely enroll in an undergraduate business program because that is the most direct route to becoming an accountant. Otherwise, I would recommend finding another passion, studying something non-business first, working for 2-3 years and then going back full-time for an MBA. As an MBA grad, you have all of the same career choices as an undergrad business major. There is a lot of repetition between an undergrad business program and an MBA. Having a different undergraduate major and non-business first job helps someone stand out from the crowd and provides a different perspective. You could argue that an economics undergrad degree fits the bill, but it isn’t all that unique. These are my opinions if they are useful. Good luck!
<> Penn state and Delaware are both about the same for OOS tuition at about $35K per year. Delaware gives decent amount of merit aid but Penn state gives hardly any. So unless you are going to receive need-based aid, I don’t see how you can say that the cost of both schools is equal. Merit aid at Delaware makes that school more affordable. Anyways, Delaware Lerner Business school and Honors is better than liberal arts economics at Penn State. But Smeal business is better than Lerner. Better recruiting at Smeal. But since your son did not get into Smeal via direct admit I think your choice is any easy one. Go Blue Hens!
I have to agree with the above poster across the board.
Thank you all for your help!
I agree. Perhaps @opallady can explain what merit money Penn State gave since it’s notoriously stingy with merit and really only gives to SHC students…about $5k. And it doesn’t sound like her son SHC.
Hi and sorry for the confusion. The merit money was from UDel at $14K per year, brining the total net cost of UDel for us close to what we would pay for total in state PSU. No need-based grants from either. Hope that clarifies.