I’ve narrowed down my college choices between the University of Pennsylvania (Wharton School of Business) and Duke! Duke was definitely “love at first sight” when I visited and the thought of painting myself blue/being a part of such immense school pride is exciting to me. However, my major interests are leaning towards business/marketing - of which Duke has limited options and where Wharton can accommodate these disciplines perfectly. I also know that in terms of academic prestige, Wharton is more impressive, selective, what-have-you.
I’m trying to decipher between the value of the degree and enjoying my time in college while making my decision. Both schools are pretty global, which I love because I plan on interning and studying abroad. I also love Duke’s vibrant social scene (mostly on account of their strong athletics), but this could be true for Penn as well because I’m not really familiar with the school yet! I’m visiting both again in mid-April, but really wanted to get some input. Will a Wharton degree give me more opportunities in the long-run and better options for grad school than Duke? Or are the two close enough in “ranking” that I should choose wherever I think fits my social expectations? For me, the opportunities possible with each degree surpass the temporary “social scene” outlook of the school - I know I’ll meet great people at both!
Just trying to learn more about each school and weigh my options thoroughly! Thanks!
Duke will place you well into any business field in the world provided you graduate with a high GPA and arm yourself with a very quantitative curriculum. Economics is a popular choice along with math, statistics, and engineering. The companies that recruit at Wharton all recruit at Duke and you don’t miss out on academic prestige.
I can understand your dilemma given Wharton is the most prestigious undergraduate business school in the world but Duke would provide you with a world-class degree as well plus the opportunity to be a blue devil cheering for top sports teams.
In terms of international study or global education, you just can’t beat DukeEngage. Check it out!:
I fully agree with @Jwest22 and would add one key point. You do not need to major in “business” per se to be selected for the best Bachelor’s entry-level positions at the best firms, to matriculate in the best MBA programs, to move rapidly forward to ever-more-responsible positions, and/or to have a VERY successful “business” career. However, you do have to be bright, willing to work diligently, have an excellent undergraduate background, and have reasonable quantitative skills – both Duke and Wharton will abundantly provide all this, and much more.
To illustrate, you might be interested to know that several first-tier MBA programs marginally prefer non-business undergraduates (although MANY are accepted), because their experiences indicate students from other academic (and professional) backgrounds may actually bring more that is both new and relevant to their classmates and to the faculty (engineering undergraduates are a prime example of the foregoing).
Go to Wharton. Best business school in the country, maybe even the world. Duke is also an unbelievable school, but Wharton Edges it. Duke Vs UPenn regular may be a different story and you would have to think about it, but Wharton is on another level.
Go to Wharton. I’ve got a couple friends at Wharton, and Wharton has the best placement of grads into the top ibanks, consultancies, hedge funds, and private equity firms. It’s just in the hard data if you look at it. Duke’s a great school, but if you want to do business, nothing really beats Wharton (except maybe Harvard undergrad).
I have a sincere question for the Wharton advocates. Every Wharton graduate I’ve known, both Bachelor’s and MBA – and that may be fifteen individuals, ranging in age from their early-thirties to their late-sixties – has made it clear that the learning environment there is somewhat more competitive and cutthroat than cooperative. Frankly, I do NOT know if this is true, but I have been impressed by the unanimity of their viewpoints. So, is this correct and, if so, is it prevalent?