My son has been accepted at both these universities and we are not sure which is a better choice. He plans to double major at Stanford in CS & Econ/finance/business whereas M&T is a dual degree - CS & Business. He likes the fact that M&T has a small cohort of 50 students and has higher priority than Wharton students for opportunities. But he is not sure about the intellectual stimulation at Penn as he has seen some mediocre kids get in (not M&T) while not so at Stanford (no offense intended please). He plans to go to admit visits at these universities to get a feel for the places. He is doing his own research; we parents thought to get some feedback from CC.
Some background- He wants to go to a place where he will be challenged intellectually. He has done many research projects at prestigious universities as a high schooler and won awards in Siemens/Regeneron STS. He also is an entrepreneur and has founded some ventures. He wants to pursue research in CS and Economics during undergraduate study and wants to possibly work at high tech innovative firms/financial industry initially in CS and then step into management.
Is someone with some experience with these 2 programs through friends/employees/family able to shed some light?
For CS, innovation and tech it’s hard to beat Stanford. Being in the heart of the Silicon Valley sounds like it would be ideal for his interests. I didn’t major in CS, but took a few courses, enjoyed them, learned a lot and even had a guest lecture from Zuckerberg.
CS and Econ are two of the most popular majors at Stanford. Great professors and opportunities.
@performante Hard choice. The only school I would consider turning down Penn M&T for, is Stanford (and maybe MIT). Penn M&T opens amazing doors and there is a lot of individual attention and guidance to the students (small program , with a whole office dedicated only to M&T students) and also a very tight knit and super successful alumni network with high positions in silicon valley, wall street etc (in addition to access to the wider penn alumni network, which also consists of very successful individuals). M&T is very prestigious in sophisticated business/tech circles.
While obviously as a whole Stanford admits are more accomplished than Penn admits, Penn M&T kids are definitely on the level of Stanford kids. Your son will be challenged in both universities.
Now on the other hand, Stanford is Stanford. Greater name than Penn, stronger for CS and in the heart of Sillicon Valley.
I feel it ultimately comes down to fit. He will have a better idea after he visits both.