WashU's Olin or UPenn CAS for a prospective business major?

<p>I've decided on going into business (and concentrate on either accounting or finance, however, this can change) and to do ED at either Penn (CAS) or WashU.
Here are some ups and downs I've come up with Penn or WashU.</p>

<p>Ups for Penn
- Better overall undergrad. school., and helps me get into a good grad school
- I'm able to take some business classes even if I don't go to Wharton
- Better location (for opportunities)</p>

<p>Downs for Penn
- I don't like the atmosphere/setting (student body too big, bad dorms)
- Money.
- Though I can take business classes there, and be in Philly, it might be even harder than WashU's Olin for me to get a decent job there because I'll be competing with Wharton students and (I'm sure) many other CAS students who want to go into business.</p>

<p>Ups for WashU
- I get free tuition, and saving that much money every year is something I should seriously think about.
- I like the setting (close to home/convenient, medium size student body...etc.)
- Decent school</p>

<p>Downs for WashU
- I'm thinking that St. Louis doesn't offer as much opportunities. Getting out in the future will be a hassle.
- The school doesn't have as much prestige as UPenn (so, putting other qualities aside, would a decent grad school/a recruiting company favor an Olin student or a Penn CAS student?)</p>

<p>Any advice?</p>

<p>Upenn cas> olin by about 50,000 miles</p>

<p>can you afford the Penn tuition? then the choice is clear: Penn CAS. but you brought up money so im guessing not. then the choice should be clear. Penn is not worth 200k in tuition over WashU. Its that simple. WashU is decent school and 200k is a **** load of money to save, especially for grad school.</p>

<p>all of your downs for penn aren't very reasonable.</p>

<ol>
<li><p>the atmosphere/setting: university city is awesome and no one EVER complains about it. and the dorms being bad? i've seen all of the dorms, especially where freshmen reside, and they are totally fine. you can't be comparing college dorm rooms to rooms in a 5 star hotel.</p></li>
<li><p>money: financial aid is very good. although you said that you'd be going to olin for free, most people would agree with me that attending penn would be a worthwhile investment.</p></li>
<li><p>job opportunities: if you're at penn (any school) and you know what you want to do.. that's exactly what you'll end up doing. people get accepted to ivy league schools for a reason. although you'll be competing with other students in a sense, if you prepare yourself well for interviews and have great stats, there's no reason for you not to land yourself a desirable job.</p></li>
</ol>

<p>and if you're so concerned about landing a job, why don't you just apply ED to wharton? you seem very confident that you'll get into penn, even though it's getting increasingly difficult to gain acceptance.</p>

<p>also, check this out. it's the class of 2006's career and salary survey for cas.</p>

<p><a href="http://www.vpul.upenn.edu/careerservices/college/2006cpsurvey.pdf%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.vpul.upenn.edu/careerservices/college/2006cpsurvey.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<ol>
<li>Personally, I prefer WashU's setting because it's close to home, it's located in a suburban area, the dorms are very nice, and it doesn't have a huge student body. But if I choose to apply to Penn, I'll get used to its setting.</li>
<li>I'll probably have to pay at least 20k out of my own pocket for undergrad. Because most people who go to Penn are so brilliant, I'll be competing with a lot of people (including Whartonites, since I'd like to go into business) for a decent job/internship there. If I do end up getting accepted and go to Penn, there is a big possibility that I'll end up with some crappy internship/job when I graduate and be stuck with my debts for a very long time (not to mention the money I'll need for grad school). Plus, the cost of living there is a lot higher, so a decent salary may not actually be so "decent."</li>
<li>I want to go into business, but I know that I have a very slim chance if I want to go to Wharton. So I'm not sure if going to Penn's CAS will do much for me though a lot of people have said that going to Penn for undergrad is a lot better than going to Olin.</li>
</ol>

<p><a href="http://www.olin.wustl.edu/wcc/pdf/AnnualReportBSBA.pdf%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.olin.wustl.edu/wcc/pdf/AnnualReportBSBA.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>Aspirant, it is likely that many people at Upenn enjoy the environment; however, that does not mean that everyone would enjoy the setting. While no dorm is comparable to a five star hotel, Bill’s complaint is not completely unfounded. My friend who had a choice between Amherst, Cornell and Penn specifically said that Penn’s dorms were not remarkable (granted Amherst has rather luxurious dormitories). To your point on Penn. Yes, Penn would be a worthwhile investment, yet that does not mean its marginal benefit in starting salary will be equal to the cost of tuition. In fact, it is likely that Penn would grant an initial benefit (where you go to school is very important for your first few jobs). However, it is more likely that the initial benefit would not exceed the full tuition at Penn or even the $20,000 dollars. After that initial phase success is largely determined by performance, schmoozing and is not determined by where one received their degree. I agree with you that Penn would be better, the question is how much more of a difference it would make.</p>

<p>The free one, easily.</p>