<p>I got accepted to both schools as a transfer student from a community college. I plan on majoring in economics, but i also want to make sure i can get a good job after graduation. Most likely i want to work in nyc. even tho I'm in the college of arts a science in upenn, i hear you can get a dual degree with from wharton. could i do the same at Uchicago? which one is overall better and more prestigious and well known? i heard that Econ Students in CAS compete for jobs with Wharton students, but theres no competition because wharton students always win. should i just go to uchicago for a econ degree? and I'm sorry for the typos, this is being typed on an iPhone</p>
<p>Penn CAS Econ majors do extremely well in the job market, and BENEFIT from the presence of Wharton and the extraordinary recruiting it brings to campus, not suffer from it. For example, check out the jobs obtained by Penn CAS Econ majors in the Class of 2011 (starting on page 16):</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.vpul.upenn.edu/careerservices/undergrad/reports/CAS_2011cp.pdf[/url]”>http://www.vpul.upenn.edu/careerservices/undergrad/reports/CAS_2011cp.pdf</a></p>
<p>You also can take a look at the Career Plans Survey Reports for the Penn CAS Classes of 2005-2010 (again focussing on Econ majors):</p>
<p>[Career</a> Services, University of Pennsylvania](<a href=“http://www.vpul.upenn.edu/careerservices/undergrad/reports.html]Career”>http://www.vpul.upenn.edu/careerservices/undergrad/reports.html)</p>
<p>Be aware that as a transfer student, you will NOT be able to pursue dual degrees with Wharton, but you CAN take Wharton courses (and report those on your resume and in interviews).</p>
<p>At the undergraduate level, this is really a matter of personal preference and fit. Both are phenomenal schools wih fantastic reputations among those in the know (including, fortunately, the vast majority of prospective employers). I strongly recommend that you pick the school at which you think you’d be happiest and thrive, both academically and socially. The rest will take care of itself.</p>
<p>Thanks that helped a lot! Hows the diversity at penn? does everyone tend to stay with their own? or do people go and reach out to each other. Im social and a little insecure at the same time, and i fear that if i choose penn i might end up alone with no friends. Im also intellectual so i love the whole quirky intellect vibe that uchicago gave off. can i find this at penn or is this a relatively small group that i would have to go look for</p>
<p>^ Penn is quite diverse and extremely social (which is why it’s commonly called “the Social Ivy” :)). You will find all kinds of undergrads there, and will have no problem locating friends and fitting into a social network. For example, if you want intellectual quirkiness, you’ll find it in abundance at places on campus like the Philomathean Society:</p>
<p>[The</a> Philomathean Society of the University of Pennsylvania](<a href=“Philomathean Society”>http://www.philomathean.org/)</p>
<p>[Philomathean</a> Society - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia](<a href=“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philomathean_Society]Philomathean”>Philomathean Society - Wikipedia)</p>
<p>and the Kelly Writers House:</p>
<p><a href=“Writers Find Haven on an Ivy Campus - The New York Times”>Writers Find Haven on an Ivy Campus - The New York Times;
<p>[Kelly</a> Writers House](<a href=“http://writing.upenn.edu/wh/]Kelly”>Kelly Writers House)</p>
<p>[Kelly</a> Writers House - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia](<a href=“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kelly_Writers_House]Kelly”>Kelly Writers House - Wikipedia)</p>
<p>as just a couple of examples.</p>
<p>It tends to be a little bit of a culture shock in comparison to a community college. What community college are you transferring from?</p>
<p>Its a small one in Arizona called Glendale Community college</p>
<p>They are both great colleges that have a ton in common (including their urban locations) and some big-feeling differences. Partisans of each will give you a long list of reasons why it is more prestigious than the other, but the fact is that both are first-rate and both are more than fine for what you need. The main determining factor in your future job prospects will be you, not which between these fundamentally equivalent colleges you attend.</p>
<p>The stuff about Wharton students getting all of the Wall Street jobs is bunk, both compared to Penn CAS and compared to Chicago. Of course, Chicago grads are more likely to work for financial firms outside New York, but Chicago itself has extremely sophisticated hedge funds and the like. There’s no question, however, that Penn is more New York-oriented, and Penn has a ton of students from the NYC metropolitan area. (Chicago has them, too, but only half a ton, if that, and they don’t dominate the culture the way they do at Penn.)</p>
<p>Re quirky intellectualism: 45 Percenter is 100% right that there are plenty of quirky intellectuals at Penn, and you should have no trouble finding them. On the other hand, I think it’s fair to say that mainstream culture at Penn has a strong streak of anti-intellectualism, and that the intellectuals among the Penn student body are more or less aware all the time that theirs is a subculture, not the dominant one. And they do complain about that from time to time. At Chicago, quirky intellectualism is like an established religion, even among the frat boys. At Chicago, it’s the anti-intellectual pre-professionals who often feel disaffected.</p>
<p>Chicago is a much glitzier city than Philadelphia, and more expensive, too (although it has a great public transportation system). Philadelphia less exciting, but more student-friendly, and Penn is closer to whatever action there is than UChicago is within Chicago. And of course you can get from the Penn campus to midtown Manhattan in a couple of hours for not too much money.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>I wonder how much that is changing, as the Chicago applicant pool undergoes a major expansion and upheaval (i.e., less self-selection). I know that both you and Chicago/Penn alum Cue7 have discussed that here. As I believe that both of you have observed, the Chicago and Penn student bodies are becomming more similar all the time (and of course, Penn has been moving more towards the quirky intellectual end of the spectrum with the creation of facilities/programs like the Kelly Writers House and the Penn Humanities Forum, and recruitment efforts through the Admissions Office).</p>
<p>Speaking of Cue7, I’m surprised that he hasn’t yet contributed to this thread–he must be busy with something else. :)</p>
<p>So because penn is trying to become more of an intellectual destination their admitting more intellectual quirky kids (such as myself) rather than the traditional kids who look for a regular college experience? And I’m from the uChicago area, not Hyde Park though, I’m from South shore which isn’t a good area. But I know that philly isn’t as glitzy as chicago is–although I was happy that its a 10$ ride to new york :). Do you all think that UChicago is becoming more of a traditional pre professional college since their applicant pool as really exploded in recent years?</p>
<p>
Well, I’m not quite sure what you mean by “regular college experience,” or whether there even is such a thing. But I know that Penn has instituted various programs over the last couple of decades to encourage more students who are not necessarily preprofessional (whatever that means)–and with varied intellectual interests–to apply to and enroll at Penn. For example, the New York Times article I linked in post #4, above, discusses the role of the Kelly Writers House in that effort:</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/05/education/05writers.html?_r=1&pagewanted=all[/url]”>http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/05/education/05writers.html?_r=1&pagewanted=all</a></p>
<p>Also, the Penn Admissions Office used its “likely letter” program this year to encourage admitted students with these kinds of interests to choose Penn:</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>[The</a> Daily Pennsylvanian :: Penn targets prospective students with likely letter campaign](<a href=“http://thedp.com/index.php/article/2012/02/penn_targets_prospective_students_with_likely_letter_campaign]The”>Penn targets prospective students with likely letter campaign | The Daily Pennsylvanian)</p>
<p>And those are just a couple of examples.</p>
<p>One correction to 45 Percenter’s post: you ARE eligible to apply for dual degree as a sophomore transfer. What you can’t do is apply for internal transfer, but of course you can get around this as well if you apply for dual degree and then later drop your CAS degree. </p>
<p>That said, I wouldn’t bet on it. You’ll have to have taken: Econ 1, Econ 2, Econ 101, Stat 101, Stat 102, Acct 101 and Acct 102 to apply at the end of your sophomore year. Not only are these courses relatively tough, weed-out courses at Penn, but with having to fulfill other sector requirements, you’ll most likely not be able to fit all those course into your schedule (unless you have transferable credit) or even if you somehow manage to fit all of them into your schedule, you’ll have an incredibly hard time keeping up.</p>
<p>
I stand corrected. 
The second item under “Eligibility” corroborates that:</p>
<p><a href=“http://spike.wharton.upenn.edu/ugrprogram/advising/internaltransfer_dualdegree/Internal_Transfer_&_Dual_Degree_Application_Information.pdf[/url]”>http://spike.wharton.upenn.edu/ugrprogram/advising/internaltransfer_dualdegree/Internal_Transfer_&_Dual_Degree_Application_Information.pdf</a></p>
<p>I think this may be a recent change in policy. Or else I just misunderstood it the last time I looked into it. :rolleyes:</p>
<p>45percenter - thanks for the kind shout out! I have indeed been busy, because otherwise, the UPenn/UChicago threads are one of my favorite topics! In any case, I think the discussion here has been on-point, and posters are doing well to observe the gradual convergence of these two schools, while also respecting the differences that still stand. </p>
<p>So, for now, I don’t have much to contrbute, because a lot of the good analysis has already been made. These are two wonderful schools, and the poster can’t go wrong with either!</p>
<p>Well, CAS Econ students are competitive with Wharton students, but it depends if you want to go graduate, Chicago has a better school of economics than Penn.</p>