Hey all! Last night, I was incredibly shocked to be admitted to Penn (Wharton), Yale, and Princeton. Previously, I was accepted to MIT as well. Right now, I think I want to study economics and public policy, but having flexibility to shift into operations research, business, finance, or other fields would be nice as well. I am just so torn right now. Could anybody offer any insight either on the schools themselves or on what I can do to figure out where I want to go (esp considering no visit days now)? Thank you all so much!
Congrats on your acceptances!
For economics I would choose Wharton…they have great breadth in their concentrations as well.
Really you can’t go wrong though…which school do you like the best from a student vibe perspective? Location? Are they all roughly the same price?
Certainly take a look at all the course catalogs…what do you see that you like across the areas you are interested in? What research are the econ (or other) professors involved in, and is it interesting to you? Check into the competitiveness of the business clubs as well…some are highly selective…not inclusive at all.
With respect to the study of economics itself, MIT, Princeton and Yale may represent your stronger options.
If you want the flexibility, I would think MIT. Do any of the other 3 offer as much flexibility to major in any of them?
And I think you would have preferences on other stuff.
The campuses are so different. Surely, that has to be the determining factor. I seem to remember MIT having a business school, too. So, maybe you hit the brass ring with that first acceptance.
I don’t know as much about Wharton as I know about the other schools but I believe it would be the least flexible of the four.
Definitely take a look at what you like at each school aside from your major academics. Any classes (within your major or not) that stand out? Any professors? Any particular extracurriculars? What environment do you like?
Contact admissions to get in touch with professors and students! That’s generally a good way to get a feel for the school.
That said, you’re absolutely spoiled for choice here and can’t go too wrong. Congrats on these acceptances!
The prestige of Wharton and connections should be very highly considered. Theyre all great schools. See where offers you the most money and start from there? Remember you can always see if schools will match. I would do some personal research on each school and make pro/con lists.
The flexibility at Wharton actually surprised me when I looked into it. Not only do they offer many different concentrations in areas I am interested in, such as behavioral economics and policy, but I would also be able to take many classes at the CAS. MIT is also so great because of their amazing economics department, as well as Sloan. In my opinion, though please offer me any insight to change this opinion, Yale and Princeton seem very similar, and both are extremely renowned in my areas of academic interest and also provide a high degree of flexibility. Any input on significant differences between Yale and Princeton would be greatly appreciated. All these considerations have definitely made this choice difficult.
In terms of whether financial aid has any influence on my choice, it won’t influence me at all. I was fortunate enough to receive an ROTC scholarship that will cover my tuition, and also making me ineligible for any aid as a result.
Any more insight would be very appreciated! Thanks again!
For Economics, Princeton and UPenn would be my finalists. UPenn’s strength and prestige in your chosen major are unmatched. Princeton’s undergraduate focus and also strength in your major make a strong contender. Do you prefer a city setting or small town setting?
Penn-Wharton, Princeton, & Yale all offer a more socially balanced college experience than does MIT.
Either you want MIT or you don’t.
In my view, the difficulty is in deciding between Penn-Wharton & Princeton. Either you want to study business in undergraduate school or you don’t.
All great options so you really can’t go wrong. Given that you mention Econ, policy, and operations research, Princeton is the one that jumps out to me. An outstanding Econ department, the Woodrow Wilson school, and the Operations Research and Financial Engineering concentration would give you several pathways for exploring your interests. Take a look at those departments and then think about location, campus culture, and the other elements. Penn is going to be more of a pre-professional, business oriented, and less of an academic vibe than the others in my experience.
If you want to study economics per se as a liberal art, some of the others (and Penn arts & sciences economics) may be a better match. Some are more mathematically intensive as well, if you want to go on the PhD study.
But if your focus is on application to business problems, Penn Wharton may be a better match.
This is where I would suggest you start. They’re all great schools, but MIT is the unique one on your list.
Folks, they all are super-prestigious and they all have great economics departments. Focusing on those aspects seems silly.
But what does differ between them are the composition of their student bodies. Which group of students would you rather be with most?
Also, MIT offers all of your potential majors. Penn does too (but some would be outside Wharton). Princeton doesn’t have an undergrad b-school. Neither does Yale or OR for undergrads.