<p>The OP asked for other universities he/she should consider. That’s why Harvard was brought up.</p>
<p>“But at the same time its wierd how all the other top universities don’t have business undergrad… I mean why is it only Penn?”</p>
<p>They don’t need it. You don’t need to know much to be successful in finance. All you need is to be a smart; once you have that, discount cash flows, CAPM, accounting, are so easy that you can acquire those knowledge and skills very quickly on the job. Pay a visit to the numerous threads in the investment banking section (as well as Wall Street Oasis), and people there seem to agree that Harvard and Wharton are no doubt on a tier of their own; however, Wharton is a close second to Harvard according to those threads. From what I’ve seen in the work place, Wharton and Harvard are about equal in investment banking. Wharton has the advantage in accounting stuff, while Harvard leads in consulting.</p>
<p>Rads4cure: I don’t believe that’s the case now. For example, Jeremy Siegel is teaching 3 undergraduate classes in Finance this Spring semester.</p>
<p>Look at the placement report for 2009 (a recession year). Wharton students did well.</p>
<p>Yes, a Wharton undergraduate starting salary is less than a top MBA program starting salary. However, very few students go straight from undergraduate to a top MBA program. The most common path is to work for several years first (at starting salaries at or below those paid to Wharton undergraduates). (The Harvard, Yale and Stanford Econ majors are often sent to MBA programs at their employer’s expense after a couple years though.)</p>
<p>The Wharton undergraduates are able to reach the MBA compensation level over time (perhaps in less time) without the MBA.</p>
<p>My brother in law graduated Penn-Wharton in the 80s. He has never even thought about going back for an MBA, and has done very well in both middle market and corporate business. When asked where he went to college, sometimes he says Penn, sometimes Wharton, they seem to be of equal importance in his mind. Rarely does anyone ask the f/u question – Wharton undergrad, or Wharton MBA? It just doesn’t make any difference in most people’s minds.</p>