<p>As of now, Upenn and UChicago are probably my top 2 outside of HYPS. I'm looking to go into medicine or medical management/consulting as a possible career. How is the advising for pre-med at Penn? If so, can anybody compare it to Chicago? </p>
<p>Also, if I ultimately wanted to go into management consulting while still going the pre-med route, would it make more sense to apply to Wharton or CAS? </p>
<p>You should apply to Vagelos LSM. It’s a dual degree between Wharton and CAS where you major in one of the life sciences in CAS and then also get a degree in Wharton. The program was endowed by Roy Vagelos, former CEO of Merck. If you apply to this program you can also select a single school option (either CAS or Wharton) if you do not get into the program but still want to be considered for a single degree. A good number of students who don’t get into a dual degree program do get into their single degree option since these programs are small, highly competitive, as well as specific.</p>
<p>Yes, I was actually considering the Vagelos LSM program, but do should I pick Wharton or CAS for my backup? </p>
<p>Depends on if you want to study business. Wharton undergrad is a business degree, you get a dramatically different education. I think you need to learn more about the Wharton curriculum if you want to apply there. Now if you are more interested in studying the sciences, then CAS would be the obvious choice.</p>
<p>I think the problem you are having is that you seem to view schools like Penn as providing a vocational degree that must be perfectly aligned to your intended career. This is not a good approach. It is much better to focus on becoming an educated person than try to pidgeonhole yourself into a narrow track. There are many fields you could study at Penn that could lead to the career you describe. </p>
<p>That’s not even exploring the possibility that you could change your mind. Even Roy Vagelos didn’t plan to become the CEO of Merck, he made many career changes along the way based on what he thought fit his interests and skills. When you figure out how to do that the sky is the limit.</p>
<p>For pre-med pick CAS. </p>
<p>Also, I believe that my EC’s on the whole are pretty strong, but none of them are really medical related. Will this hurt me? I got in contact with my Penn admission rep about this, and she said that it’s fine if my EC’s aren’t business or med-related. Should I buy that, or is that just some generic line they give to boost application numbers? </p>
<p>You are in high school. Just do what you want orchestra, band, science Olympiad, chess club, whatever. No one expects you to be completely immersed in medically related ECs at 17. Honestly, there’s a good chance that you will never end up going to med school. The majority of premeds will change paths by mid sophomore year.</p>