@slashermaster1920
Penn engineering students have a lot of options and many accept investment or consulting jobs. Many of those positions have seen increasing value in hiring students with computer science, math and statistics skills, which combined are basically the aspects of data science.
Recently, an increasing number of Penn engineers are turning down finance opportunities to work in tech and they are getting those jobs too. The program is rigorous but grads have a lot of options. The average grad has over two job offers the last time I saw data. That is almost unheard of. Look at the data from Penn Career Services for engineers, they have extensive opportunities.
“(Also note: If you are serious about a PhD in Economics, Chicago has a special variant of the straight Math major designed specifically for people who want to apply to Economics PhD programs. It also has a great Statistics department as well.)”
^ Ditto. The Math w/ Specialization in Economics includes a tailored set of Math courses that will prepare someone quite well for a PhD program in Econ. If OP is truly interested in that path, he/she should also make sure to take the upper div. Econ with someone who will write a great LOR (since that is crucial to being accepted into grad Econ).
Agree with @JBStillFlying on #17. Just thinking about non Nobel guys at the Econ. Department off my head: Greenstone, Levitt, List, Murphy. Not to mention Carlton, Diamond (my bet for our next Nobel), Goolsbee, Kroszner, Topel at Booth.
@milee: Brown has an open curriculum & Chicago has a hard core core curriculum. Seems as though one interested in such core requirements might apply to Chicago & to Columbia, but not to Brown.
So yes, while seemingly inconsistent, it also shows flexibility & open-mindedness.
I interpreted @Publisher 's remark as humorous - in light of some of the dust-ups on this board wherein Brown has assumed the role of the anti-UChicago (and vice versa).
OP appears to inhabit an alternative universe in which it is possible to entertain the thought that one could imagine going to either of these schools. We must be in the twilight zone! [Joke.]
Be open minded that young people’s career views evolve once they enter college. However, if you have a real affinity for consulting, and you like McKinsey, then be advised that James Oscar McKinsey had two degrees from University of Chicago and was a professor at University of Chicago. To show that there is a stronger pipeline between U of C to McKinsey anywhere in the world would not be easy—there are substantial ties between this firm and university at multiple levels, and those relationships go back decades and are at the levels of many senior partners.
I’m an admit at all 3 – try and convince me Penn is the right school for me.
I’m interested in going to either data science/machine learning or management consulting at a top firm like McKinsey. I’m also open to the idea of getting a phd in either econ/math/stats from a top program. All else equal I like being in a bigger city over a smaller city or rural area. I’ll likely major in Applied Math, Comp Sci, Economics, or Statistics
With that said, I’d like you all to convince me that Penn will be better for me than the other 2?
An aside - would i be treated as a second-class citizen compared to Wharton students while recruiting for top companies?
@milee30 by the time top professors are recruited away from public universities to expensive privates (a common occurrence) their impact productivity has peaked and their interactions with undergrads goes to zero.
@JHS No one in Wharton treats CAS or any other school as second-rate, and it’s not their interest to do so.
I don’t have statistics in front of me, but I’d also bet that Penn sends more students to MBB every year than Chicago. It also likely has more interested applicants. But the prep from classes/clubs that you can get at Penn is as good as anywhere.
Congratulations you have great Choices!! Didn’t I read somewhere one of these schools had hundreds of students hidden away in mental institutions? Just for old times sake:)
Hey All – Before going to admitted student days, I’m leaning UChicago for these reasons –
In terms of total classes taken, it looks like UChicago’s Core isn’t that restricting compared to other universities’ gen ed requirements.
I lean conservative politically (but not super right wing), so would I inevitably hate the majority of my classmates at Brown? I also like being in a major city like Chicago or Philly all else equal.
I get the vibe that Penn CAS doesn’t get as much love from recruiters as Wharton, whereas at UChicago all majors would be on the same playing field for top notch jobs. Sure all the schools can apply for the same jobs, but would recruiters view a CAS student the same as a Wharton student with similar credentials?
I’m open to getting a phd, and UChicago obviously is top in that area. I can also major in Econ with Spec in Data Sci and also simultaneously get a masters in stats if I’m really hard core about it.
UChicago seems to have made some significant improvements in their STEM majors over the last several years.
Correct me if I’m wrong or misguided in any of the above.
Interviews are performance based. They’re not going to hire someone who does worse in on the case/technicals/personality components simply because of Wharton. If anything, the Wharton students are held to a higher standard.
This is actually not true. Penn CAS kids place very well into consulting and finance jobs and do get a lot of attention from recruiters. Obviously not as many CAS kids are interested in these jobs as wharton kids so not as many go into I, but this also means there is less competition. Just look at the stats on the Penn career services website.
Also as Penn CAS students you can take as many Wharton classes as you want and have access to all the various undergraduate business clubs and research going on at Wharton. You wouldn’t have this kind of exposure at UChicago or Brown.
Yes but you would still have significantly less flexibility compared to open curriculum schools like Penn and Brown.
The CEO of Apple went to Auburn. And the prior CEO went to Reed but failed to graduate.
Choose the school that you like the most, intrigues you the most and gets you the most excited.
You. Not the difference beteeen any of these world class institutions will not be the the difference. Your own personal talent and tenacity will or will not find you a spot at Bain and McK.
There are other regional consultants that are awesome too. I met with one firm yesterday. The lead was a Middlebury grad. His second in the meeting went to a UC.
Look on Penn’s Website at job placements from CAS. Their outcomes data are very thorough. I am not that familiar with the finance world, and was looking specifically at IB, but it looked to me like they do place some in finance, but obviously not like Wharton. Of course, that may be self-selection, and management may be different from IB.
That sharing is (arguably) a rather important characteristic to miss. The “everyone” at UChicago includes not only undergraduates but also many faculty members (who, if they teach undergrads at all, are appointed to “The College”). So the whole community of The College shares in the Core.
As I remember things there (dunno how much it may have changed) many Core courses were team taught (or team designed). Many of the teaching materials were prepared by faculty teams and compiled by the university press. There was a relatively high degree of integration among courses and disciplines. Even the furniture came into play: typically, students and the instructor all sat around a big table (as opposed to students in rank-and-file order facing the teacher at a lectern).
So … since a couple posters above invoked Steve Jobs and Bill Gates … the difference between the UChicago Core and other undergraduate programs is a bit like the difference between the Apple “ecosystem” and the relative patchwork you get with other computing platforms. Of course, some people prefer more freedom and flexibility, or more stove-piped focus on their main interest(s).
There is self-selection. Not just at the point of initial entry but also later on since many people discover an interest in business and choose to transfer to Wharton after freshman or sophomore year. still there are many who are interested in business but want a liberal arts education/dont want to actually study business and they also end up doing well at business recruiting.
