Penn Engineering vs Wharton

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Pennsylvania
1

Hi, Penn RD applicant here. I am currently applying to the Penn M&T dual degree program with Wharton + SEAS, but am struggling to determine whether to apply to Penn Engineering or Wharton as my secondary choice.

Stats:
Charter school, top 10 in my state
GPA UW: 3.75 (artificially low due to 7 point scale)
GPA W: 4.69/6 (11 AP courses and Multivariable Calculus)
Senior Year Classes: AP World, AP Macro, AP Chem, APES, AP Psych, English Honors, Civics Honors, Multivariable Calculus (DE)
Class rank: 19/129
ACT: 31 composite, 32 superscore, 33 Math, 33 Writing, 33 Science, 32 English, 30 Reading
SAT: 730 Math, 710 reading/writing, 20/24 essay
Awards: Issued Patent and published scientific research. Started two companies, one of which received an EPA contract
ECs: University Engineering Team, President of Debate Team
Gender: Male
Race: Black/White, dual citizen of UK
Other Hooks: Low Income (<25k), First Gen to College
Essays: 9/10. Counselor said they were the best she ever read. Common App was about my journey from a chef to an entrepreneur.
Recs: 9/10. Read them and they were all amazing. My economics teacher said that I would accomplish great things for society with the right resources. Chemistry teacher said I was the best student in 30 years.
Intended Major: Engineering or Economics, not sure

Currently I have been accepted to the Harvey Mudd, Caltech, and Columbia fly-ins. I’m not sure if I want to focus more on business or engineering during undergrad. I feel that an MBA at Wharton is better than Wharton undergrad, but please correct me if I’m wrong. I visited Penn and I really liked the ChemE professors, but Wharton seemed to also have a lot of specialized resources for entrepreneurs.

Hopefully I get into M&T, but I’m really conflicted about my secondary choice. I feel if I started at Wharton it would be easier to tack on an Engineering double major, whereas the converse is much more difficult. On the other hand Wharton is harder to get into. I feel that as a single major Engineering is more useful, but at the same time less prestigious than Wharton.

Secondary choice: Wharton or Penn Engineering?

2

Did you waive your FERPA rights?

3

Yes, but I asked my teachers to show me the recs after they submitted them

4

@allnighter21

It is true that is harder to go from Engineering to Wharton than the other way around once at Penn because more people want to transfer to Wharton than Engineering and as an engineer your GPA will most probably be lower than that if you were at Wharton.

The resources available for entrepreneurs both at Wharton and Penn Engineering are open to all undergrads so you should not think that choosing one or the other limits the resources you have access to while at Penn. For Penn engineering also has a great engineering entrepreneurship minor which is open also to non-engineering students and Wharton has many resources available to all.

Wharton is harder to get into but not hugely so therefore it should not be a major consideration in your decision. It is a much better strategy to go for the school that you think best fits your interests and profile.
Also the prestige factor you mention does not really have a practical importance. Yes, Wharton has a better standing within its specific field (business) than SEAS has within its own (engineering), but these are two different fields. This is true for many other top schools. Penn is a great school and you will great opportunities regardless so it is more important to focus on what you are interested in studying.

Another thing is that as an engineer at Penn you can easily break into business (and many do so), but as a Wharton student you obviously will not be able to get an pure engineering job since you will be lacking an engineering education. Personally i think, if you cannot do M&T, an more solid undergrad degree and then an MBA later is a better option, but that is open for debate. Also yeah Wharton MBA gets most of the glory but the undergrad program is very sought-after and prestigious too.

If you are really torn between business and engineering I would go with Wharton as your second choice after M&T, and if you get in and decide that you are more interested in engineering you can more easily switch to engineering than the other way around. Also you can do an uncoordinated dual degree between engineering and Wharton (it is the same curriculum as M&T but you have a bigger course load because some courses are not double counted as in M&T).

5

“Wharton MBA is more prestigious than the undergrad program”

Completely wrong. It’s the opposite. Wharton Undergrad is unequivocally the best UG Business program in the world. The same can’t be said for the MBA Program

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@Shaunakk98 that is true but I agree with OP that Wharton derives most of its prestige from its MBA program. Most universities and schools derive their prestige mainly from their graduate programs. It just has to do with the inherent clout of an MBA degree versus that of a bachelor degree in business. Also the Wharton MBA is unequivocally considered top 3 in the world along with Harvard and Stanford, maybe just below Harvard and Stanford according to many but definitely in the top 3.

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You might consider the engineering undergrad, if you are planning an MBA anyway.