Penn Economics vs. Chicago Economics

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Chicago ✅
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<p>I've been accepted to both colleges - Penn College of Arts and Sciences and Chicago's College. I chose to major in Economics at both, however I'm not sure which college to choose. I've heard so many good things about both colleges, but also some bad things about both. I hear that Chicago's Economics' Department is a powerhouse, but that at Chicago fun does not exist. At Penn, I know that Wharton classes may be available, but I don't know if even Wharton's business classes beat Chicago's Economics' Department.</p>

<p>But really, I don't know much about both colleges - Can you guys help me out? Where should I choose? Why should I choose it?</p>

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<p>This years Nobel Prize winner in economics is a UChicago professor. kthnksbai</p>

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<p>One Link. Read it.
PrepMe</a> Advice - Different Factors in Deciding How to Choose a College: Why I Picked the University of Chicago</p>

<p>Kid is in the same position as you.</p>

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<p>Ha, that was an interesting read, Louie.</p>

<p>When you're evaluating two awesome schools, departmental strength is usually not the way to go to choose one over the other (unless, say, you have a very particular field of interest in which you've already progressed a lot as a high-schooler and one school caters to that). </p>

<p>Instead, you want to think about the school as it fits into your overall plan for yourself, what you're looking to get out of college, the kinds of people you want to spend a lot of time with, and ultimately, the school where it will be easiest for you to be happy.</p>

<p>The whole issue of fun comes up quite a bit on these forums, so I encourage you to spend some time sifting through old threads. There are a lot of things I can say, and I'm sure I've said a lot of them over my 2,000+ posts (sigh!).</p>

<p>A few things you should know:</p>

<p>-- "Where fun comes to die" is our unofficial official slogan and it's on t-shirts that you can buy and parade around campus. I didn't even know "wfctd" was meant as a joke before I came here... I thought Fiske and Barron's came up with it by themselves in their professional assessment of the school.</p>

<p>-- You'll find some students who work all the time and some who almost never work. Most students sometimes do a lot of work and sometimes slack off. You will figure out for yourself how much work you absolutely need to do and how much of it is optional. I'll give you a little scale that won't always hold but has worked consistently for me: for most classes, an A signifies a pretty beastly amount of work. A B+, on the other hand, is pretty manageable, if you make a commitment to the class, keeping up with assignments and to doing well. An A might be spending 10 hours per week on a 3-hour class. A B+ might be spending 4 hours a week on a 3- hour class. 4 classes per quarter.... A 4.0 average? (4<em>(3+10))= 52 hours/week. A 3.3 average? (4</em>(3+4))= 28 hours/week. This math is extremely approximate, as some classes will take more time than others and others less time, but I think that you can still do quite well while investing the same time into schoolwork as you will into a 9-5 job.</p>

<p>-- Even with schoolwork, paid work, watching TV, lollygagging with friends, procrastinating on the internet, and getting enough sleep, I still have time to party 3 nights a week if I wanted to. Parties definitely happen here, and they are easy to find and easy to avoid. I don't know how "good" they are (I subscribe to the JHS party theory which is alcohol+people+Rihanna= good party) but they tend to be pretty low-key. Alcohol is allowed in the dorms and parties are allowed in the dorms as long as they are registered with the RA.</p>

<p>**</p>

<p>Anyway, if you can post a little bit more about yourself, what your dream college is like, and what you imagine are the pros/cons of Penn and Chicago, I'll try to help you out a bit more. The best situation, of course, is if you can visit both schools for yourself, but I understand that's not always the easiest.</p>

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<p>I think if the only factor you are using to decide between the two is economics departments then you should look at what type of economics you want to study. While Chicago has a very good record of producing top Investment/trading talent, I would have to say that studying at Warton would be the better option. But if you want to actually study economics and go on to get a master's of Ph.D, then Chicago would be the better choice.</p>

<p>p.s I thought the Ivies didn't report until the 31st. How do you know you're into UPenn?</p>

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<p>I agree with White Rabbit to an extent. Theoretically, if you're interested in Finance, I would say go to Penn and take classes in Wharton, even though you won't be in Wharton. If not being in Wharton will pose a big problem for you, go to UChicago. UChicago has the best financial economics program in the country (for Phd...but I'm sure there's trickle down). Furthermore, I would think that with the Chicago core you'd probably have a better background because there's more requirements that you could take at Penn, but you won't be pushed into it. Congrats on getting into two awesome schools, and good luck with the decision.</p>

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<p>They're both rigorous and worthwhile programs. You'll probably be looking at identical jobs/graduate schools when you come out. </p>

<p>For what it's worth, you shouldn't focus just on academics, but on things like connections and internships. I can't speak for Penn, I'm sure it has those things in abundance, but I do know that firms recruit heavily from Chicago, although competition for internships is stiff. Also, the career advisement and alumni connections network at Chicago is pretty solid. </p>

<p>You're basically choosing between a Lamborghini and a Ferrari here.</p>

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<p>I have heard that Chicago ugrad economics is not as good as most people assume it is. The graduate program is incredible but I hear that there is a barrier in the undergrad program and professors care more about grad students. Don't know much about the penn program at all. Also consider that at Penn, you will be competing against all of the Wharton kids. I hear that many of the penn econ kids didn't get into wharton but got in to college of arts and sciences. don't know if thats true either.</p>

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<p>I think that will be extremely true at any school wolfpack. However, from what i've heard it is less true at Chicago. There are fewer kids and almost all professors teach an undergraduate course on a regular basis.</p>

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<p>UChicago and UPenn A&S econ are effectively identical in terms of academic substance and career placement. In addition, both let you take business school courses to some degree (at Chicago, up to three for general elective credit, and up to three more for enrichment). Frankly, it would be almost a pure quality of life choice in my book, given that Chicago and Penn seem to have settled into a position where, at least for collegiate studies, they are considered peer schools by institutions that will actually have some bearing on your life (employers, graduate schools). This would definitely be a prime time to chase scholarship money if any was involved.</p>

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<p>^^ wolfpack: Gary Becker and I won't be having lunch together at Hutch Commons any time soon, but there hasn't been a time when I've said "Oh shucks, my professor just wants to hang out with grad students and doesn't have time for little me!" Maybe that's because it's often difficult to tell the difference between grad and undergrad when undergrads can cross-list into grad courses, and maybe that's also because profs make time for undergrads, teach small classloads, and hold office hours.</p>

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<p>wolpack- I would say that there is no such thing as the kid who got denied by wharton so just went into arts and sciences. I had considered applying to Penn and they said you don't have the option of applying to 2 schools, and if you get rejected/deferred ED, you can't change your school selection.</p>

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<p>I was a research assistant for a PhD student in accounting at the GSB this past quarter - He had gone to Harvard, majored in Econ, then came here. When showing him my coursework, he told me how much more challenging the work we were doing is than what he was doing. The reason for this is that at U of C, multi-variable calculus is required before moving into the main econ sequence, as opposed to many schools that only require you to take calculus of a single variable. </p>

<p>I don't know about UPenn, but I would say if you want your PhD, then you should really look into departmental strengths. If your looking to go into the work force (banking, consulting) I don't know how recruiting works for non-Wharton kids either. I suggest you visit both campuses, evaluate them, talk to students who faced similar situations and have similar goals before deciding.</p>

<p>Best of luck to you, your in a great position and can't exactly make a "bad" choice.</p>