UPENN vs MIT

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Pennsylvania
1

<p>I’m a parent and my son wants to study business and computer engineering. His life goal is a foundation in business (own his own business), but he is very innovative and inventive and wants the tech-skills to help him create new products for our tech-savvy global environment. I’ve looked at the Jerome Fisher Program at Penn (or doing a dual degree in business & engineering at Penn) and I’ve looked at course 6 (Electrical Engineering & Computer Science) and course 15 (Management) program at MIT. This is what I’ve discovered:</p>

<li>Upenn is # 29 or so in Engineering, MIT is #1</li>
<li>Wharton is #1 in business, MIT is #2 (on most rankings they are both within the top 5 or top 10)</li>
<li>The Jerome Fisher program at UPenn is quite good, but are the technical skills learned on par with MIT.</li>
<li>I don’t want him to graduate from UPenn and then have issues with getting work because he studied engineering at UPenn. </li>
<li>I don’t want him to graduate from MIT and be seen only as tech-savvy as opposed to being a business savvy person.</li>
<li>Which school fosters innovation/creativity more? My son is very creative</li>
<li>UPenn seems to have a more well-balanced curriculum while MIT seems more tech-based and not as well-rounded.</li>
<li>MIT dual degree requires a 4.0 after 2 semesters in the major subject (1st degree option chosen). What if students don’t get that? Are there dual degree options lost forever? (this seems to be a big risk!)</li>
<li>UPenn makes it easier to get a dual degree. Not as much red tape. </li>
<li>What other programs are comparable to UPenn’s Jerome Fisher program?</li>
<li>I’ve looked at other schools which are tops in Business & Engineering and have come up with: UMichigan, Cornell, Carnegie Mellon, Berkeley (very difficult to transfer b/w majors and they have impacted majors, plus you have to wait 2yrs to apply to the business school and there is a chance you won’t get it - they are not tops on my list).</li>
<li>MIT has EA (great option, non-binding), UPenn has ED (a risk if we want to consider other schools).</li>
</ol>

<p><strong><em>I love Penn because of Wharton & I love MIT because of the Tech-focus</em></strong></p>

<p>Help!..any advise you could give would be much appreciated!</p>

2

<p>From prior experience, you would be a lot better off at UPenn- more opportunities in a wide variety of fields vs. a strong engineering program</p>

<p>although MIT is great, departments outside of engineering are average. </p>

<p>just letting you know :)</p>

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<p>@Dinkswizzle</p>

<p>just wondering, did you attend both Upenn and MIT?</p>

4

<p>haha no, i didn't mean to word it that way</p>

<p>i got into MIT & visited twice, and applied to UPENN and visited, and coming from a biologial sciences perspective, i feel like i would have a better education @ UPENN</p>

<p>not to say that MIT is bad- its more than excellent. however, there isnt much emphasis placed on some of their departments (granted, it is primarily an engineering school). </p>

<p>didn't mean to offend, just sharing my perspective.</p>

5

<ol>
<li>Upenn is # 29 or so in Engineering, MIT is #1</li>
<li>Wharton is #1 in business, MIT is #2 (on most rankings they are both within the top 5 or top 10)</li>
</ol>

<p>But do consider Penn's engineering department is small. In general, Ivy League engineering departments are good but not high on the rankings. And even though Sloan is #2 in undergrad business, Wharton is a league of its own.</p>

<ol>
<li>The Jerome Fisher program at UPenn is quite good, but are the technical skills learned on par with MIT.</li>
</ol>

<p>MIT is more hardcore in general, but the technical skills you gain at Penn are excellent. In the end, how much technical skills you acquire depends a lot more on the student. I'd say you can get as technical as you want at both schools, but yes, the CS curriculum is probably more hardcore at MIT.</p>

<ol>
<li>I don't want him to graduate from UPenn and then have issues with getting work because he studied engineering at UPenn.</li>
</ol>

<p>There will be no issues at all. Penn computer sciences graduates are recruited by the top technology firms, ie Google, Microsoft, Cisco, etc, not to mention Wall Street.</p>

<ol>
<li>I don't want him to graduate from MIT and be seen only as tech-savvy as opposed to being a business savvy person.</li>
</ol>

<p>MIT students do tendto be stereotyped as nerds.</p>

<ol>
<li>Which school fosters innovation/creativity more? My son is very creative</li>
</ol>

<p>I'd have to go with Penn, especially if you mean creativity in business. Besides Wharton, there is an entire Engineering Entrepreneurship program which is really cool.</p>

<ol>
<li>UPenn seems to have a more well-balanced curriculum while MIT seems more tech-based and not as well-rounded.</li>
</ol>

<p>I agree with you.</p>

<ol>
<li>MIT dual degree requires a 4.0 after 2 semesters in the major subject (1st degree option chosen). What if students don't get that? Are there dual degree options lost forever? (this seems to be a big risk!)</li>
</ol>

<p>No idea here.
8. UPenn makes it easier to get a dual degree. Not as much red tape.</p>

<p>Not really. Getting into the m&t program is not easy. If you don't get into m&t but get into Wharton, the doing a dual degree with engineering will be easy. But if you get into Engineering and want to dual with Wharton, then it is a lot harder.</p>

<p>(I'm a CSE/Econ dual degree at Penn, and have a friend who is Course 6 major at MIT).</p>

6

<p>Also remember that college decisions is not a one way affair, and if it comes down to these two schools there is a great possibility of the acceptance letters deciding for you. Keep your options open and try not to get too invested in anything, for your son's sake.</p>

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<p>MIT would be better if your son wants a stronger engineering background. Wharton would be better, not UPenn but Wharton if your son wants a stronger financial background.</p>

8

<p>Penn engineering is very small and some facilities may be outdated but believe me, they work the kids hard. It varies with the department but some departments can be just as hardcore as any of the top top schools. Just don't let the rank fool you, the kids are very smart and if you want to do well you will be working your ass off.</p>

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<p>szeatam, I don't think Penn's engineering facilities are outdated at all.</p>

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<p>What's his ego strength?</p>

<p>If he can stand the heat, do undergrad at MIT and then come to Wharton for an MBA. I don't think there is any comparison between MIT and UPENN in engineering. The MBA is a credential you need to succeed in anything but the smallest companies if business is the ultimate destination. Better to start with the very best engineering education and then layer the best MBA on it.</p>

<p>On the other hand, if he can't stand being around 100 people smarter than he is, and who know they are smarter than he is, then go to a really good computer engineering school other than MIT (and better than UPENN, maybe Stanford). MIT is very tough. It shows.</p>

<p>On the other other hand, I think Wharton MBAs are much more well rounded business people than MIT B-school grads.</p>

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<p>My advice: Stanford. There is no other school as plugged into the sciences and entrepreneurial business.</p>

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<p>And what kinds of opportunities are at Stanford combining engineering and business are better than the ones at MIT and Penn?</p>

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<p>^how about just go to google.com and find it out yourself.
let me just give you one that's very obvious: location. At Stanford you'd have VC's offices lined up very nicely NEXT to campus. Also, Stanford is in the heart of silicon valley. It's definitely better than staying in Philly or Cambridge if you're interested in doing a startup.</p>

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<p>Rudess,
Could u explain more about your post #8 [below]? I applied to Jerome Fisher, but was accepted to Engineering. I plan to try to transfer into JF in a year, which the website says is possible and gives specifics on how to do so. Is that not really as possible as they make it sound? I am weighing different offers now and need to know what the realities of the future are if I choose Penn.
Thx
------your post:</p>

<ol>
<li>UPenn makes it easier to get a dual degree. Not as much red tape.</li>
</ol>

<p>Not really. Getting into the m&t program is not easy. If you don't get into m&t but get into Wharton, the doing a dual degree with engineering will be easy. But if you get into Engineering and want to dual with Wharton, then it is a lot harder.</p>

15

<p>^ I think what Rudess meant was that to do a dual degree with Wharton, you'd have to meet the same requirements as someone seeking to transfer into Wharton from one of Penn's other undergraduate schools. The only real prerequisite for that is a minimum grade point average for your first year, which minimum cutoff is determined every year depending on the number of slots available. I believe the minimum GPA is generally in the 3.7-3.8 range, but others here can verify that.</p>

<p>Even if you can't do a dual degree, however, you can still take Wharton courses as an undergrad in SEAS, and that is a MAJOR advantage of attending Penn.</p>

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<p>Thx 45%. Any advice on who best to speak to now to review potential academic path?</p>

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<p>If I were you, I'd contact my regional admissions rep in the admissions office, and let him/her either help you directly or put you in touch with someone who can. He/she WANTS you to choose Penn, and should do everything possible to get you the info you need.</p>

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<p>Thx 45%. He actually just contacted me via email and I'm going to email him back with questions, etc.</p>

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<p>"I got into MIT" doesn't mean anything. It not until you attend MIT that you understand what MIT is about. MIT has the best engineering program in the world and it has one of the best undergraduate business programs. The learning experience is like no other. Your son will be able to do more than just business and will be much more than tech-savy. Course 6 and 15 is a common double major. Wharton's engineering program won't teach him what MIT will, but the business programs are similar. UPenn maybe an ivy school, but MIT will make him worth harder than anywhere else.</p>

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<p>Also, a 4.0 at MIT is a B. MIT is on a 5.0 scale so anyone with a B average can double major.</p>