<p>I've been accepted to the undergraduate program at both Stanford and Wharton and was looking for some advice about which to choose. I figure there is no "wrong" choice as they are both great places to study and I am honoured to even consider this. </p>
<p>I would like to study economics/business and work in banking after graduation. I am wondering which school is more highly respected or would lead to a better career, and which could get me a higher salary. (In practical terms). I am an international but would like to remain in the US so this is quite important, unfortunately. </p>
<p>For my more personal considerations - I'm also a fairly laid back guy so I'm wondering what kind of environment there is at these schools. Is one considerably more social than the other? Are people friendly? Etc.</p>
<p>In terms of global prestige (I would eventually like to work abroad, in Asia/the Middle East) which school do you guys think has a better image?</p>
<p>For the future and my career - is it better to the BSE at Wharton or major in Economics from Stanford then try to do an MBA later on? </p>
<p>Lastly, I was wondering if rejecting Wharton/Stanford would mean that it would possibly be harder to then get accepted there for an MBA program. </p>
<p>I would appreciate any advice and help from you guys and have cross posted this thread to both university subforums. </p>
<p>Wharton is definitely the better choice if you want to do banking…1/3 of my analyst investment banking class came from Wharton. Stanford gets considerably less recruiting action from Wall st/NYC offices for obvious reasons. Although if you don’t mind working in the west coast or if you have a strong interest in tech then Stanford may not be a bad choice.</p>
<p>As for MBA, Wharton or Stanford makes no difference.</p>
<p>^ how do you know for sure that there’s more recruitment at Wharton? Distance doesn’t matter very much when it comes to the top-ranked b-schools (and because these are recruitment hubs, undergrads get recruited as well), so I don’t think that’s as obvious a conclusion as many would think. FWIW, outside of California, NYC is the place with the most Stanford alumni (which is significant because more than half of its alumni live outside of California).</p>
<p>Having been accepted to Wharton ED, I can definitely tell you that, so far, the Wharton people are extremely friendly and do not self-segregate into their own group. The whole conception that Wharton is super cut-throat is totally false. You’re there to study business, a field that relies heavily on group collaboration to make your projects successful. As for the curve? Actual Wharton students have told me that it helps in most cases and unless you go out partying every night, you should have no trouble in Wharton. Stanford is great for tech entrepreneurship, but seeing that you want to go into banking, Wharton grads and undergrads dominate Wall Street (seriously, check out Wikipedia’s list of Wharton alumni in the financial sector). I picked Wharton because I wanted a business education that focused on the practical side of things. If you want more
of a theoretical education, perhaps Stanford would be better. Both schools have all sorts of people. You’ll find laid back and some not-so-laid back people where ever you go.
Before I chose to do ED for Wharton, Stanford had been my #1 choice for nearly three years (yeah, I was one of THOSE people :p). I thought that Stanford was laid-back, sunny all the time, and in general, a perfect setting to have for a great college experience. But when I looked into Wharton closely, I realized that it was the perfect fit for me because I really wanted a practical education that would make going to business school less of a need (granted, there are Wharton undergrads who do eventually go to b-school, but the majority do not), and while the average person may not know about Wharton, in the business world, Wharton is very well respected, sometimes more so than Stanford (think again Wall Street). If you care so much about prestige, go with Stanford then. But if you really care about your future career and not so much about what people will think about you based on where you went, pick Wharton. Plus, Penn is considered “the social ivy” :)! You’ll have plenty of fun stuff to do in Philly (unlike Stanford where
the “Stanford Bubble” exists). Plus, we do get four seasons and snow (seriously, how can you pass by winter without ever making a snowman or seeing snow fall?!).
But in the end, maybe what I have to say doesn’t matter. Pick your options carefully and just run with that “gut feeling” once you really have it. Congrats on getting into both schools, though :D!!</p>
<p>Theoretical as in more of studying about economic theories and cases. Practical as in studying about business cases and more hands-on practice with business (think MGMT 100 where you team up with a local Philly organization and develop and carry out a strategy to make
them more successful).</p>
<p>Just made a post on the entrepreneurship angle that I think is particularly relevant. Lol, but i’m signing out, have a mid term on monday I have to study for. </p>
<p>If there are indeed fewer Stanford alumni on Wall Street (though no one’s given any data on this), you can’t draw the conclusion that it’s because they were at a disadvantage. It’s much more likely that they are simply less interested in Wall Street and tend to go on to Silicon Valley, San Francisco, the Bay Area, and LA if they go into business/finance. It could just as easily be the case that the success rate of those who wanted to join Wall Street firms did so at a higher rate out of Stanford than those who wanted to join Wall Street and succeeded out of Wharton. I’m not saying this is the case, just that there is no indication that it’s true or untrue.</p>
<p>For example, one could make an equally unsupported argument that because Wharton grads are so plentiful on Wall Street and Stanford grads so rare (*if *that’s the case), then it’s easier to get a job there being a Stanford grad, “a rare gem,” vs. a Wharton grad, “a dime a dozen.” This argument makes has as much evidence to its credit as the one above, that is, none at all.</p>
<p>In short, raw numbers tell you nothing, because you don’t know how many students actually went for it. I seriously doubt that Wharton will give someone an advantage over a school like Stanford in getting a Wall Street job, and vice versa.</p>
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