<p>I have an essential question. I have been accepted into Penn, but I have not got financial aid. Although it is extremely difficult for my family, my dad is willing to pay for it. I will be writing scholarship essays all Christmas break hoping I get something :)</p>
<p>I want to major in Finance and Bioengineering at Penn (I an enrolled in SEAS)
However, I heard from different individuals at Penn and at other schools that a double major like this is extremely difficult to pull off (Finance, they said, is ok but engineering is always difficult). However, I do not want to graduate in five years and cost my parents another 43k. I will have 5s in Chemistry, Biology, English Lit, English Comp, US History, European History, World History, and a 4 on Latin (language requirement fulfilled)
(I am ignoring calculus and phys because I want to relearn those courses: they are essential to engineering and my friends at Stanford who also got 5s in these course said that the 2nd year math course is difficult. They recommended that I retake calculus)</p>
<p>So perhaps I don't need to focus on the pesky humanties at all. Is it plausible that I can double major and survive? Does anyone have any tips/info?</p>
<p>There's a simple solution to your quandry. Focus on engineering in undergrad and get your MBA in finance later. Who knows, you might even get your future employer to pa for it.</p>
<p>Although the engineering program at Penn is strong, I just can't give up the opportunity to study finance in the strongest business school in the nation. </p>
<p>My dad was generous enough; he's paying so much money for four years! I can't let him down; he also wants me to major in finance. It's also something that I want to do badly.</p>
<p>You say that I can get my MBA later. I don't have another 100,000 to pay for grad school, carolyn. I'm just wondering whether it's possible to double major or not without killing my GPA.</p>
<p>You are getting way ahead of yourself. Worry about picking your first semester freshmen courses. Then, towards the end of the first semester, worry about picking your second semester courses. These things have a way of working themselves out. For all you know, you may end up being a religion major.</p>
<p>I will say this: engineering is a very difficult and time-consuming major because it involves a full slate of science courses, math course, and engineering courses. There isn't a lot of room left in the schedule for dabbling in other areas. This is a reality that all potential science majors run into.</p>
<p>Dusk, the hard truth is that engineering is a bad combo with anything except maybe Math or Computer Science. I understand your desire and motives appertaining thereto but it really is an insupportably bad idea. Choose one major or the other and then become serene with it. Frankly, the engineering ug and MBA combo sounds good and more than worth the eventual $$$$, even if you decide to pull loans somewhere along the line.</p>
<p>If you wanted to do double degrees of engineering and finance, you should have apply for the Jerome Fisher M&T program. It is specifically set up for this purpose. Through this special program, you will have both priority and special access to the scheduling of the courses from both sxchools ( SEAS ans Wharton), thus making it easier to finish all the requirements for the two degrees. You should seriously look into it.
With that said, it is an extremely rigorous program. Most people will end up using five years to finish if they want the A.B.E.T. certified B.Eng.Sc. with the B.S. from wharton. However, You can do it in four years if you only want the B.Appl.Sc. with th B.S. from wharton.
Also Bioengineering is probably the most rigorous and with the heaviest load amongst all the diff. majors in the SEAS. Most SEAS students have their hand full just with this major alone. So you are looking at a pretty tall order.
Penn also does not give a many credit to AP as some other schools. You should check up with the Penn site on this issue.
Good luck.</p>
<p>One possibility is to plan on borrowing one year's tuition to complete the double major in the fifth year--but only if you are fully on track with this plan. A finance/bioengineering double-major would be very attractive to employers, and a $30-40K loan would not be an unreasonable debt load. This would be a viable plan if you had a successful internship or two and good job prospects.</p>
<p>I recently heard of a young man who was hired by an engineering firm right after college and worked there for two years. He was sent to B-school on his company's dime and is now back at the company. That's how a lot of MBAs get paid for.</p>
<p>I'm about to go volunteer so I won't be back until late at night tonight. I'm going to research the credits given for the APs and see the requirements for bioengineering and finance. </p>
<p>interesteddad: I appreciate your concern but I think I either want to start a biotech company or become a manager at a biotech firm. (or an oil company, bioengineering is in the same department as chemical engineering) </p>
<p>bioeng: Unfortunately, I applied to the Fisher program and I was rejected from that. It's quite selective. I will try to get into the program sophmore year. However, only 5-10 people get in at that checkpoint as well. I'm hoping for the best and I hope I can get a 3.8-4.0 GPA freshman year. Also, as you said, it does seem like it takes 5 years to get the B. eng. Sc. and the B.S. from wharton.</p>
<p>sempitern555: I got no financial aid. However, when I applied ED to Penn I understand that such a thing could happen. I'm lucky to be in such a good school.</p>
<p>dmd77: If worst comes to worst, I guess I have to finish it in five years. I am fully on tract with this plan. I am also planning to find internships during my four years in college. Is it possible for rising freshmen in college to get internships?</p>
<p>marite: I understand that happens, but what are the chances of that happening? What if I don't get hired by an engineering firm that would play for my MBA. I can't leave that up to chance. I want to get that Finance degree from Penn.</p>
<p>It happens a lot more than you'd think. I also know a young woman who went to work for an investment bank for a couple of years and made enough to pay for her joint MBA from Wharton and MA in IR from the Woodrow Wilson School (I gather she talked them into allowing her to do a combined degree).
But I agree with Interesteddad. While you may have some long-term goals, it's better to see how things shape up in your freshman year; you may become interested in something else or you may find that the engineering courses are so tough as to leave little time for anything else. Remember, too, that college should not be all about grind, but also about making friends, having a social life, and exploring non-academic activities.</p>
<p>So true, Marite, that college is more than the academic grind. I blitzed through college in three years, living at home. As I look back on my experience, I wish I had taken that extra year and stopped to smell the roses, take an art appreciation class, or gone to more school plays, etc. </p>
<p>But then youth is soooo wasted on the young. . .</p>
<p>Something you might want to consider--a lot of employers pay for their employees to get their MBA. My brother received his EE degree from the University of Illinois (years ago), and his employer paid for him to receive his MBA from the University of Chicago.</p>
<p>Ellemenope, I'm with you...I always shake my head a little at students who are rushing to get out of college in three years...it's a once in the lifetime opportunity where you can afford to be more self-centered about your wants, needs, and desires than at other times in your life...feast on your options while you can, or so sez I.</p>
<p>I think it's important to actually crunch some numbers. It seems like you have a good shot, given your achievements to date, of going to a top B school. If you do this, your starting salary will be very comfortable even with school loans of $100K. You may need to work in a high paying job for a few years before starting the biotech company, but you'll need some training anyway. School is an investment. You should make it a prudent one, so don't borrow $100K to go to podunk. But money borrowed for top schools is usually a wise investment.</p>
<p>Dusk: starting your own biotech company is a great goal, but you won't be in a position to do that until you have a great business or technical idea on which to base it. Chances are, that won't occur until you have been working in industry for a while and have gotten an advanced technical degree.</p>
<p>If you're interested in becoming a manager, then taking an MBA a bit later is the way to go - and it might or might not be in finance. Lots of people take them later, while employed.</p>
<p>I'm assuming that you were accepted to Penn ED, so that you have no options to go elsewhere. If that's not correct, then you might want to look into some schools that have combined engineering/business programs such as Lehigh and RPI.</p>
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Dusk: starting your own biotech company is a great goal, but you won't be in a position to do that until you have a great business or technical idea on which to base it. Chances are, that won't occur until you have been working in industry for a while and have gotten an advanced technical degree.
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<p>True, but one step at a time. I'm only 17! I'll be sure to be on the lookout for business and technical ideas. There are plenty of great ideas out there, but there's no one to implement them. I like to look at the way Bill Gates started his company or the way Michael Dell Started Dell computers. Unbelievable (especially Dell). </p>
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If you're interested in becoming a manager, then taking an MBA a bit later is the way to go - and it might or might not be in finance. Lots of people take them later, while employed.
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<p>This is true. I had a talk with my dad and he said that if it's necessary, I don't have to get a degree in Finance. But I think it's plausible, if I work hard. I have and never had a desire to drink/party/etc. Unfortunately, I know people from my school who have fallen into the partying routine at Penn. My first goal, once I get there, is to have a schedule for what I should do every day. Things add up : )</p>
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School is an investment. You should make it a prudent one, so don't borrow $100K to go to podunk. But money borrowed for top schools is usually a wise investment.
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<p>You are right! Hopefully, I don't even need to go to a B school once I maintain a high GPA and get into the Fisher program. I'm currently applying to a few scholarships right now. Sigh. Why is college so expensive now!?!? hehe</p>
<p>Penn gives good NEED BASED aid. If this OP's father can afford to pay the full cost, it is unlikely that they will qualify for need based aid. Penn does not give merit aid.</p>