<p>(This time it’s a more direct poll, sorry to those who have had to read about my dilemma a billion times)</p>
<p>… or Penn College?</p>
<p>Like the other guy who posted about Yale, I want to eventually “go into business” but I’m not sure I want to do undergrad bus. for sure. In order to be as well-rounded as I would be getting a liberal arts degree at Wharton, I’d have to take a lot more courses, and I’m not sure I would be able to take that extra stress. </p>
<p>There’s 4 “business concentration” credit units needed, the 9 business fundamentals, and 3 “business breadth” and some other stuff… essentially, i’d be left with 15 credit units out of 37 for liberal arts stuff…unless i opt for more classes.</p>
<p>it sounds like you have already made up your mind. if you're honestly not sure, then columbia's the best way to go. you'll still be able to get really great internships being NYC, too, to help you figure out if you want to go to business school.</p>
<p>Haha. Does it sound like I've made up my mind to go to Columbia? because the opposite is probably more true. Man, I'm not sure what I'm looking for. I've heard the same facts/postulations over and over. It seems like I would be okay either way. Is there some "final" question I can ask myself? lol ahh neverending internal argumentsss</p>
<p>afaforce, I am basically in the same position as you (except instead of Columbia I have Dartmouth). I also am not <em>positive</em> I want to go into business, but from the couple intro econ classes I've taken, I really like it. I also wish there was a "final" question to ask!! I am visiting both places, and will hopefully make a decision after that. I have spoken to some people who say Wharton will open doors for me after graduation that undergrad econ, anywhere, wouldn't. Others say a liberal arts backround would be better. If I do go to Wharton, I definitely plan on having at least a minor in English, History, etc. As most of my friends/family have told me, I will be happy and successful regardless of which of these great schools I choose. Good luck with the decision, I know how agonizing it is!</p>
<p>I were you, I would definitely not go to Penn College. If you are not 100% sure that a pure business path is for you, then Columbia is the way to go. Columbia will offer many of the same internships and oppurtunities for graduate school. Also, for liberal arts, Columbia is superior to Penn.</p>
<p>i think it is obvious that penn has a better business school...if you're in the college you can take classes at wharton, and even transfer there if you want. frankly, columbia's academics (especially busniess) are not at the same level...additionally, there are many fine opportunities in philly. and of course, you can take a plethora of courses at upenn, whereas at columbia you have to take those awful, useless core classes!</p>
<p>haha yeah saila. i get both, too. i was, had been, and essentially still am leaning wharton, though. </p>
<p>after my overnight @ columbia and my visit to penn (i've visited both, overnighted @ penn and visited another time already, but this time it's different...), i may just have a "gut" feeling, which would simplify things a lot. </p>
<p>curiousstudent- that's basically what i'm trying to decide about</p>
<p>I second caths2005. Penn is the place to go for business. Columbia for journalism. University of Chicago for economics. ETC. The great thing about all these schools is they are wellrounded. Go to Penn, get a great undergrad experience and keep your doors open. (then again i might be biased as my dad went to penn...)</p>
<p>yeah, i have a copy of that wharton undergrad curriculum worksheet thing on my desk and.. if i stretch it by taking more classes than necessary.. i could be getting a pretty good liberal/non-business education, too</p>
<p>afaforce, I hope I get a "gut" feeling too. I am pretty split, but I am leaning slightly for Wharton. Hopefully the visit will decide. I have also pored over the wharton curriculum worksheet. A minor would be fairly easy to do, I don't know if I would end up doing a major, even with double-counting a couple seminars, I think I would need 9-10 classes. But even with only a minor, I agree, I think I can get a pretty good variety. How was your previous overnight at Penn? What were the best/worst parts? I visited once, but just took a campus tour and went to the info session, no overnight, so I felt I didn't get a great feeling for the school since I only talked to the tour guide.</p>
<p>I actually overnighted with the Huntsman kids in KCECH. they were all really nice (but then again I was only visiting, not competing for good grades =P), and the one class that i attended was really interesting (for once!!). i also sat in on my host's management recitation (which is what all wharton kids'll have to take). they all left positive imprints in my mind.
let's see... the worst part? didn't really have one because i'm pretty tolerant of most things.. maybe the bathroom sharing. but that's going to be the case next year most likely.. i didn't experience parties or anything..</p>
<p>you know, i've been thinking about that whole penn having an anti-intellectualism environment thing (from the other thread), and decided that, in theory, having an intellectual environment is what I want. but on the other hand, i've never been too much of an intellectual. just really goal driven. mm. (well, no i know you can be both. but.. less time stopping to smell the roses, i guess)</p>
<p>i would not wanna go to columbia for undergrad, because it would be so damn distracting. I don't know how you could ever get any work done being so close to new york city. Also, penn and columbia are both in big cities, but for columbia, most of the events and speakers will be happenning in nyc, not on the campus. It's kind of nice to have things going on on the campus, and I think penn has more of that.</p>
<p>As for your decision, you cant get better than wharton. you honestly would be crazy not to go there (unless financial aid is an important factor for you). wharton is #1 business school in the country, and youd definitly be set for life if you got a degree from there.</p>
<p>were you accepted to wharton or the college? because they are definitly very different, and it makes it a much harder decision if youre deciding between the college and columbia</p>
<p>the wharton curriculum is far more interesting that it sounds on paper. the 3 global requirements, for instance, can be fulfilled taking history classes from the college, as well as cultural studies. they're pretty lenient about this. you may come in with AP credit to fulfill the business fundamentals, too. i came in with 3 fulfilled- econ, stats, and calc.
moral of the story, there are more than enough opportunities to take those fun classes, or to even dual-degree, doing wharton AND econ in the college. i, for one, am majoring in bio, dual degreeing with wharton with a concentration in finance and marketing, and minoring in european history. penn is soo flexible. and the 37 required wharton classes only amounds to about 4 classes a semester, and that's assuming you don't have AP credit. students usually take more, leaving them more than enough time to take those fun classes.
penn is a great place to be. graduating from wharton will open huge doors for you. but if you're not completely sure, think hard about it. i hope i helped, and if you have any more questions, i'm here to help.</p>
<p>Columbia's liberal arts are only negligibly better than Penn's...</p>
<p>People who get rejected from Penn get into Columbia and vice versa...they're pretty similar in the quality aspect--though the actual student life would be vastly different..</p>
<p>see, deep inside i really really want to go to penn (have wanted to for 3 yrs), but i needed to be convinced 100%.. so yeah. although i won't place out of most of that stuff (GRRRRRRRRR ::regrets high school decisions::).. going tomorrow!!</p>