Hi! I am having a hard time to decide between upenn brown and dartmouth to early to. I am majoring in FInance and hope to work in consulting after college. What are the pros/cons of each in social life, diversity, on campus recruiting, grading( inflation or deflation) and acceptance chances aided in being an early decision? Thanks so much!
Bump!
The last I knew, Penn is the only one where you can major in finance as an undergrad.
@aylmaoletsgo Most people in your place would choose Penn, I think. Penn has overall stronger departments than the other two schools. In terms of recruiting, there is no school that does better than Penn. Penn is the most targeted college by firms along with Harvard, and its average salary is only a bit lower than harvard and higher than all of the other ivies. Penn is known as the social ivy, and it is true that in general Penn students not only work hard but also know how to have fun. Also Philly>Providence>Havoner. Brown probably has the highest grade inflation of the three, followed by dartmouth and then Penn. Penn is in general one of the ivies with generally less grade inflation along with Cornell, Columbia and Princeton. At Penn you have the chance of concentrating in finance at the wharton school, or doing a traditional economics degree. In the second case you can take as many finance classes as you want to supplement your econ degree and whatever you decide to study at Penn, the recruiting opportunities you will find there can not really be found anywhere else. Penn is also the number 1 school in finance in the world, has the best undergraduate business program in the world and has a top 10 economics department which is also stronger than the econ departments of both of the other two schools. Penn is one of the most diverse ivies in terms of race and background, and Dartmouth is prob the least diverse ivy (really waspy). Also I don’t know if you are interested in that at all, but in general Brown is politically the most liberal ivy, Dartmouth is prob the most conservative and Penn is somewhere in the middle. I have found that a lot of people at Penn are socially liberal but more on the conservative side when it comes to economic issues (of course these are aggregate observations, and you will find all sorts of people in all three schools). Lastly, Penn gives big preference to its ED pool, and accepts about 54% of its class from the ED pool. Its ED acceptance rate is about 25% and its RD a bit over 7%.
Here are just some links you might find useful:
http://www.thedp.com/article/2015/03/penn-seeking-employment-rate-one-of-lowest-in-country
http://www.forbes.com/sites/susanadams/2014/05/30/50-college-diplomas-with-the-highest-pay/
http://www.phillymag.com/business/2015/07/03/penn-tuition/
https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/school/?215062-University-of-Pennsylvania
https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/school/?217156-Brown-University
https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/school/?182670-Dartmouth-College
Thanks @Penn95 Would my chances at penn be crippled if over 20 students form my high school are also earlying there? Thanks!
No! Penn is looking for the best students, and does not compare you with other applicants from your school.
In some years, Penn admits may admit no students from a school in one year and many in another year.
There are some high schools from which many more than 20 students apply ED to Penn. Penn does not have quotas for high schools-- they just want the students who will contribute most to campus and go on to do great things after graduating.
I think Penn also makes the most sense if you are interested in Finance. Penn’s on campus recruiting is outstanding and all of the same resources are made available to all undergraduates which means you will be able to interview with any company that your peers are interviewing with across the University. Either matriculating to Wharton or just taking classes there will give you an edge over other students who don’t have access to the most renowned Finance department in the world. Penn’s traditional econ program is also incredibly strong and widely regarded as one of the finest in the world. And it’s true, the social life at Penn is second to none. There is a diverse mix of students interested in everything from a quiet night in the dorms, or a fraternity party down the street, to a dinner downtown with a trip to the Barnes Collection. The opportunities to socialize according to your interests, preferences, and personality are truly endless.
At the end of the day, all three of these universities all likely have the resources to connect a motivated student to their end goals-- it’s about placing yourself in the environment to which you are best suited and that will possess the specific opportunities you are most interested in pursuing. All three are great-- Penn might be the best fit for your particular interests
good luck!
Also of interest: http://www.npr.org/sections/money/2015/09/18/440973097/obama-wont-rate-colleges-so-we-did
Only a handful of schools place equally as well on all three lists they created…
@PennCAS2014 @Much2learn really? I heard that if many kids form same school apply early, they will only accept the strongest and defer/reject the rest because they want diversity. I come from a top 10 public CA high school. Would it help me to apply RD rather than ED then since so many people(20+) are EDing to Penn? I don’t have the strongest stats in the school, but do have strong Essays/ have visited Penn/Ec’s/supplements/demonstrated interest. Thanks!
Penn tends to strongly consider gpa, rigor, ECs, SAT scores, and essays. They compare them to the applicant pool, not applicants from your school. If the adcom decides there are several very strong applications from your school, they will admit them. They do not look at them by school however. I think you have a better chance ED.
If they are not sure, they may also defer you.
It’s true, as you say, that Penn will only accept the strongest and defer/reject the rest but that’s because Penn only accepts the strongest candidates as a general rule (assuming no other hook)-- it’s not about school diversity. I went to a high school where many more than 20 students applied to Penn ED, many of whom were legacies. A handful got in ED and a handful got in RD. The ED kids and the RD kids were pretty equally qualified. Though two of the RD kids were the valedictorians (and one of those valedictorians was a legacy). Penn actively states that it is more receptive to ED applications- if you want to get into Penn, your best shot is during the Early round. Not because you can be less qualified (ED applicants are usually the most traditionally well qualified because they tend to come from wealthier backgrounds and better high schools), but because Penn wants students who see Penn as their first choice.
Read the newspapers for all 3 schools. They will tell you a little about the school and are another source of info.