<p>I was accepted into the University of Pennsylvania and Spelman College. I love UPenn but I was not offered ANY financial aid. I do have a sister in college but they still gave me nothing. I am in the College but if i attend I will try to transfer to wharton and complete the 5 year mba program. If I attend I will graduate with about $150,000 (give or take) of debt. This is the major reason I am hesitant about attending. Is the Ivy League degree worth the debt I would incur?
I was also accepted to Spelman College, an HBCU. I was offered a full tuition scholarship so I would graduate with no debt. I visited once and like it but not as much as UPenn. There are things on my list that upenn has that spelman doesnt. I am visiting again this weekend to gauge how much i truly like the school. If I go to Spelman I am hoping to attend an Ivy League business school so I can get my mba.
Should I attend Upenn and graduate with $150,000 of debt and a Wharton MBA or go to Spelman and graduate with no debt?</p>
<p>Spelman no debt than Wharton MBA. My close friend attended Howard UG than Harvard MBA. very successful CFO at one of the major banks in NYU.</p>
<p>go to Spelman and get a high gpa, save your money for an ivy grad degree after a few years of work.</p>
<p>Get the Penn degree.</p>
<p>Your family must have a very high income not to get any aid.</p>
<p>Go to Penn, transfer into Wharton then you don’t need the MBA and save two years of your life. You may accumulate $120,000 in debt doing the MBA at an Ivy. Plus, you may not get into an Ivy later. Competition gets tougher every year.</p>
<p>Take Spelman. Maybe Ivy for grad school?
Undergrad doesn’t matter. Just graduate in the top one percent from Spelman or something.</p>
<p>Right now, I’m thinking Spelman.</p>
<p>First and foremost, even though you have been accepted to Penn, it will not be easy by any means to transfer from the College to Wharton, and even more difficult to submatriculate for an MBA. There is no guarantee you will be able to do any of that, so keep this in mind.</p>
<p>Now, if cost is a big issue, and you know that what you’re planning (i.e. Wharton transfer) is not a guarantee, then maybe Spelman is the most benefit. After all, it is going to be a full ride and companies are going to come down to Spelman to look for strong minority talent (I am presuming you’re African-American). So, if you do well there academically, you will have some good opportunities and the chance to attend Wharton later.</p>
<p>If Penn is still very exciting to you despite all this, then you should look to go there. I absolutely loved it, and for me the debt I incurred was worth it for what I wanted out of my college experience.</p>
<p>I’m for Penn because only about a third of Wharton undergrads even need to go back for an MBA. You could be done in 4 years. Even if you aren’t transferred into Wharton, you can still take Wharton classes and get a degree from the college in Economics or something else related to what you want to do. Finally, an Ivy League MBA is expensive. You will still spend a lot of money and get into a ton of debt and start your career a few years later.</p>
<p>As an HBCU grad myself, I say you have no wrong answers.</p>
<p>^ everything Madaboutx said
also know that prestigious firms also take a lot of kids from the other schools at penn as well. For example, goldman sachs hires 6 kids from the engineering school each year and several from CAS as well. The fact that wharton is on the campus should only serve to boost the other schools because they can also have acess to the famous people who come to Wharton and vice versa. There really is a one university concept at penn and thus, the advantages that a wharton education has is spread about the other schools as well.</p>
<p>Undecided I echo much of the advice that has been given to you. My only caveat is that Penn has the resources to give you an amazing array of choices and possibilities. Spelman is a wonderful school but lacks the financial resources and infrastructure of a large Ivy League institution. </p>
<p>As to post grad plans keep this in mind–grad schools and employers cherry pick off the tippy top of Spelman grads. Do you think you will end up in the top 1%? You have no way of knowing that now. Employers and grad schools go much deeper into the Penn pool.</p>
<p>Good luck to you. You have no wrong choices.</p>
<p>Honestly, if you are truly on the Wall street path neither option seems to make sense…Do you have other optoons? To dispel all myths and fantasies let me state that most people admitted into the college NEVER get into Wharton. Most of my friends dreamed that and were distraught when they never got in despite trying and trying. If you dont believe me, contact a current Econ major in CAS: most of them are aspiring Whartonites…Don’t saddle yourself with that kind of debt for what may likely be a CAS Econ degree. And as far as those who advise that you won’t need another degree after an undergrad at Wharton so you won’t need an MBA, please do your research before taking that bad advice. That isn’t true either–especially for African Americans…One degree will never suffice…And although Penn is my alma mater, it gave me no real advantages…None. I graduated with a history degree…Penn is Just a competitive weed out school where all the races self segregate and where you are nobody if you aren’t Greek, pre-med, in Wharton, or Engineering…I was woefully unprepared for graduate school. Do some research and read the Daily Pennsylvanian online to see what it is REALLY like there…Spelman will offer far more opportunities than you would dream of at Penn.Recognize that when any MBA school, med school, or firm wants talented black grads, they look for them at Spelman, Morehouse, Hampton, or Howard–not Penn and certainly not in CAS at Penn…but for business Spelman does not fit either…Its a liberal arts college–best designed for PhD preparation and med and law school prep…Do you have any other options? Duke? UNC? Michigan? UVA? Neither option matches your career goals(esp because I know Wharton transfer from CAS is not likely)</p>
<p>Marie, I strongly disagree that recruiting companies and graduate/professional schools don’t look for strong black applicants at Penn. They look for strong black applicants EVERYWHERE. Yes, Spelman and other HBCUs may have special attention because they are, well, historically black, but a black student from a selective school will certainly be quite a competitive applicant. Why? Signaling. Merely by attending Penn, or some other highly-selective institution, the individual is in affect saying “I am an intelligent person.” Is this foolproof? No. Does it mean a black student at Penn is smarter than one at Spelman or Morehouse? Of course not. But there is a halo effect in play there, and its something black students can use to their advantage. </p>
<p>Of course, it will take more than that halo effect to be successful. But I do believe it is there. And I have seen many, many of my fellow Black students do quite well for themselves in securing employment or being accepted to fantastic grad schools (and excelling once enrolled) whether they were in Wharton, The College, Engineering or Nursing (or more than one for that matter). In my, and their experience, Penn has opened doors. I am certainly not giving the university all the credit; but it does deserve some.</p>