<p>I'd also like to add one thing. Recruiters are after people who can add value -- who are smart and can make use of their opportunity. Yes, being in Wharton exposes you to a broad range of important and useful financial concepts, but this doesn't give you an automatic step-up. A person in the College could be just as smart, and be able to show a deep understanding of similar topics. </p>
<p>I've run into plenty of College students who read/watch the news/stock market religiously and have a good knowledge of important economic events/concepts, and this sort of interest shows through in the interview. Compare this to a Whartonite who isn't all that interested... yes, he may have taken a slew of Finance/Accounting courses, and he may have even done well in them, but if the College guy shows that he's intelligent and has a good understanding of things and seems more fit for the position, recruiters are going to prefer the College guy to the Wharton guy in an interview. Furthermore, College students are allowed to take a few Wharton classes as well, thanks to the One University policy.</p>
<p>So, really, the school you choose as an undergraduate is really a function of your personal interests. When it comes to getting a job or doing well in the recruiting/interviewing process, it comes down to how you think and how you act, and there are infinitely many sources available to improve upon both of those things. It's not simply about being in Wharton.</p>
<p>The mere fact that you see a large number of non-Whartonites getting similar jobs should be pretty indicative of this.</p>
<p>Therefore, it's pretty silly for a Whartonite to "look down" upon a College student for having similar ambitions, because it obviously shows a certain degree of misplaced elitism.</p>
<p>
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I think it is unfair to say that people look down on people in the college who are interested in getting jobs in finance. I hope that isn't true.
[/quote]
SAS grads aren't look down upon as inferior. There is a higher demand for Wharton grads in fields like ibanking and consulting for reasons including the fact that a business undergrad prepares you more for the real world, but the same could be said of someone doing Computer Science vs Math. The truth is to get a good job you need good grades, internship experience, and interview ability. A student in Wharton with a 2.5, no internships, and who can't interview won't get hired by any good job out of school. A SAS student with a strong GPA, strong work experience, and strong interview skills will be just as competitive as any Wharton student for those top banking and consulting jobs.</p>
<p>You two are stating the obvious for no real effect.</p>
<p>The question pertains to the same single person, interested in business, deciding whether to pursue Arts & Sciences Economics or Wharton. Presuming this person thinks they will be just as successful academically in either school (the question posed is not whether one school is easier than the other), the answer is this person will be in better shape to get a sought-after job with Wharton. </p>
<p>A single recruiter at a generic financial services firm looking at two resumes, same in everything but the school, will choose the Wharton resume more often. The difference does not go from 100% to 0%, but it goes from x% to some percentage below x. </p>
<p>The question of whether 1 poor Wharton student is better than a different but excellent Arts & Sciences student is not relevant to the consideration of which school one person decides to pursue.</p>
<p>More important perhaps is to question whether a specific career, such as economics research in academia, is better facilitated with an Arts & Sciences economics degree. In this case, the answer is probably yes.</p>
<p>Much to my surprise, this has turned out to be one of the more fair and in-depth comparisons between College and Wharton students I've ever read in my years of wasted life on collegeconfidential.</p>
<p>
[quote]
urthermore, a family member who began working at goldman last year said that her batch of first analysts had an evenly split number of people from penn and wharton.
<p>crescent22: just out of curiosity, do you have ANY idea what you're talking about? The fact that numerous current students have contradicted you repeatedly while your relationship to the university remains unclear (that, and the 'Bachelor of Arts' designation on my transcript above Major: Biology) seems to indicate that your knowledge base is somewhat lacking.</p>
<p>I see where crescent22 is coming from and I agree with a few of his assertions.
For BBs and top consulting companies, CAS applicants have a fair shot although I do think that Whartonites would have more of a chance, imo.</p>
<p>But there are definitely many companies/jobs that under "Education" - list Wharton Concentrations - Finance, Stat, etc.
BX had Wharton/Finance and Wharton/Accounting listed for "Education". Can a CAS student apply? Yes, but given the very few number of people who will get interviews, chances are that they will take their pick from Wharton.</p>
<p>That was a misunderstanding. Most Wharton students end up taking 6 courses in their declared concentration; the fact that 2 of them are required by all students does not make it a false statement.</p>
<p>You can take as many as you want. However, not all of them will count for credit. My worksheet says you can have 4 Wharton classes count unless you are a dual degree when you can have up to 6 count towards a SAS degree.</p>