<p>Princeton econ would be my choice, if costs were comparable.</p>
<p>Penn social life>>>>>>>>>>>>Princeton social life</p>
<p>UCB – Princeton is ranked #4 in Econ, and Penn #8, NRC. To me that’s so close as to be removed from the discussion.</p>
<p>Are you suggesting the econ at Princeton is significantly better than the econ at Penn?</p>
<p>^ No, I would prefer to get a degree in economics from Princeton than a Wharton MBA-lite…that’s just me.</p>
<p>NRC rankings never entered my mind…;)</p>
<p>Wharton without a doubt.
Penn is an amazing school!</p>
<p>One thing I think about a lot its that people associate Wharton as the quick route to Wall Street. It’s definitely true in a way, but it sells Wharton short I feel. It’s more than finance. This is an absolutely fantastic place to learn about the business world, from finance to real estate to health care. You will be prepared for anything you want coming out of here.</p>
<p>Also, being a Wharton acceptee is great because if you ever decided to suppliment your business study with liberal arts, it’s easy to obtain a minor or whatever at one of the top liberal arts schools in the country (not Princeton, but very close). You can choose to pursue two degrees as well (which is what I plan to do), although it would require extra work.</p>
<p>So, my overall point is that your opportunities at Wharton match those of Princeton in more ways than just finance. Not to mention the social life here is better I feel.</p>
<p>Hmmm… I’m not sure into which area of business I’d be interested in going.
It seems that academically wise, both are pretty equal (in terms of quality of education), and there is a negligible difference between the two schools regarding recruiting/post-grad jobs. Thus, I think it would come down to other factors, such as social life, quality of facilities, prestige, etc, right? Please correct me if I’m wrong!</p>
<p>Wharton/Princeton prestige is a push
Facilities? not sure how this is relevant unless you’re talking about lab work
Social Life – now you’re on to something…
Broad-based liberal arts vs. more focused business + some liberal arts – this is at the heart of the matter.</p>
<p>Right now, I’m leaning towards Princeton.</p>
<p>Any more insight before I choose? I want to have 100% confidence with my decision.</p>
<p>Penn definitely has a better social life, and Philadelphia is way more fun than Princeton, NJ.</p>
<p>Also, check out the comments thread for the Princeton article [Admission</a> rate rises to 9.79 percent for Class of 2013 - The Daily Princetonian](<a href=“http://www.dailyprincetonian.com/2009/04/01/23213/]Admission”>http://www.dailyprincetonian.com/2009/04/01/23213/)</p>
<p>Seems a good number of people are not happy with recent changes to longstanding Princeton policies/traditions</p>
<p>You should know enough about the two schools that the comparison would be much more sharply drawn than you have made it. You have placed yourself in the hands of persons giving unformed judgments in a matter of considerable importance to you. So for these faults I suggest you pick Wharton and make someone on the Princeton waiting list very happy for the rest of their life.</p>
<p>To me, thing is: many high school students can get to college and find out first semester that actually they love art history, and hate economics. College is supposed to entail that kind of self-discovery, in good measure. That’s why I personally would not prefer to lock myself into a vocationally-oriented more narrowly focused slant, before I even started college.</p>
<p>But that’s me.</p>
<p>Ihroughout this thread I have not seen much discussion of, or evident interest in, what one might actually learn.</p>
<p>So again, for you, I’d say: Wharton.</p>
<p>Leave a liberal arts education , the opportunities for exploration and self-discovery, to those who are more evidently desirous of, and ready to appreciate, that ride.</p>
<p>^^ Well stated, Monydad. Princeton is not the place for a student whose primary ambition is a good job on Wall Street. The education and environment is tailored for the intellectually curious – those who love learning for the sake of greater knowledge. Yes, many students go on to have fantastic jobs on Wall Street, but that’s seen as a side benefit, not motivation.</p>
<p>I would like to take the opportunity to make the distinction between studying economics and business. Economics is more theoretical and sweeping in scope than business is, and top liberals arts-style colleges offer this as an undergraduate major, with no distinction in the type of degree offered. Economics is an intellectual pursuit. Business is a professional school discipline. Its sole purpose is to prepare students for jobs. </p>
<p>If your primary motivation in attending college is getting a job upon graduation, then choose Wharton. If you love learning and an intellectually-charged, diverse environment, then choose Princeton.</p>
<p>monydad, momwaitingfornew –</p>
<p>I agree with your points. It is also an issue faced by those applying to the engineering schools at MIT, Berkeley, Caltech, Mudd. Some know early what they want to do, or at least what they likely want to do.</p>
<p>You both imply that a Wharton student cannot take 10-15 classes in philosophy, geology, midieval literature, art history. Almost half the curriculum of a Wharton grad can be taken outside Wharton.</p>
<p>That’s true, DunninLA, and we’ve simplified matters.</p>
<p>Still, there’s a huge philosophical difference between a school that offers an economics major and one that offers a business one. One is an academic discipline and the other is a professional one.</p>
<p>You can’t go wrong with either one, so just pick the one that is most appealing to you. The eduge that Wharton would have over Princeton is most likely minimal at best – they’re both top-rated Ivy League schools with lots of name recognition that will get you wherever you want to be. They’re both in similar locations regionally (Princeton is very close to New York, and Wharton in the middle of Philadelphia) but Princeton is in a more suburban area, whereas Wharton’s in Philadelphia proper.</p>
<p>Personally, I would choose Princeton. The focus is on undergraduate education, and Princeton will allow you the flexibility to change your major if you decide that you really don’t want to go to Wall Street, you’d rather be a teacher or lawyer or something else. It’s in a nice suburban area with easy access to New York, and it’s absolutely beautiful.</p>
<p>An MBA is a degree that you decide to earn after you’ve been on Wall Street or wherever a few years. You generally need work experience to get into the best programs, so don’t worry about it now – do as well as possible at your undergraduate university, get a great Wall Street job and start working! You will then decide whether you actually need an MBA or whether your Wharton or Princeton degree is serving you well enough.</p>
<p>Thank you for all your insight. I look forward to being a Princeton Tiger! Rawr.</p>