<p>I am an incoming freshman to the Wharton School. I know it's time to embrace my new school but I have recently started questioning whether I made the right choice by enrolling in Wharton.</p>
<p>To begin with, I am an international student (with dual citizenship) who is undecided about his career prospects. I initially wanted to double major in econ/poli. sci. before college admissions and because of Wharton, that possibility seems to be eliminated. </p>
<p>Right now, the three possible routes I can take seem to be law, medicine or finance. </p>
<p>Other than Wharton, I got into Williams, Amherst, Duke and Dartmouth and was waitlisted by Columbia and UChicago. </p>
<p>Everyone on this forum seems to think that if you are 100% set on a business career, Wharton is the obvious choice but for undecided people, it's not an ideal place to be. However, at the time of my acceptances, prestige was an important factor and I have been told that Wharton is the most prestigious name among all above (even more than Columbia, I am a bit regretful right now that I did not stay in Columbia's waitlist) and going to Wharton would not be as limiting as people think in terms of career prospects. </p>
<p>Of course, if I choose to pursue a career in consulting/IB, Wharton is the best place for me to be. If I decide to enroll in a premed track, my plan is to concentrate in Healthcare Management (I have never really wanted to major in a biological science as a premed) which I know will be quite daunting. If I choose law, on the other hand, I might do finance which I think might prepare for me corporate law. </p>
<p>Based on the information above, do you think enrolling in Wharton was a bad choice considering my undecided nature? If so, I might start considering transfer applications for next year.</p>
<p>I really wouldn’t sweat it. Try Wharton out for at least a semester and see if you like it. If not, you can easily transfer to the College of Arts and Sciences and major in political science (if that’s what you’re still interested in). </p>
<p>You could also get a dual degree (Wharton + College) and get a BS from Wharton and a BA from the College. Bottom line is that you have a lot of options.</p>
<p>It’s really easy to transfer, and everyone does it. There’s nothing that restricts you from taking courses at various schools within Penn. Just take first year to decide what you want to do – it’s no big deal.</p>
<p>If you want to do pre-med, though, you should look into taking science pre-reqs early on. I’d recommend doing the intro chem and physics labs in your first year if you’re serious about it.</p>
<p>Even as Columbia has drastically improved in the last 10-15 years, it’s still true that Wharton eclipses Columbia- just caution we are comparing a specialized business school with an arts & sciences school.</p>
<p>Previous posters are correct- you can use the first year at Wharton to figure out whether to continue specialized business education or go to the College. Leaving Wharton, I would say is quite uncommon but it’s more important to pursue your true interests than conform to norms.</p>
<p>It will be difficult to get on a premed track spending a first year at Wharton- think about what courses true premeds are taking freshman year and you will be behind them if you switch. HC Mgmt can be a seriously lucrative area that is a sensical compromise.</p>
<p>Be aware as you take first year courses at Wharton that they are pretty general (marketing 101, management 101)- the right way to decide whether to stay in Wharton is to informally explore the upper level courses in Finance or HC Mgmt or Real Estate or whatever and decide if that is for you - anticipate what you would be doing in 2015-2016 instead of judging based on what you are doing in fall 2012.</p>