<p>I've heard that Wharton undergrads have a huge advantage in the workplace straight out of college because of their profession/work-prep training over the liberal-arts or even ivy graduates. How true is this? Oh and while I like UPenn (I'm thinking of applying ED to Wharton this fall) I've heard that the campus is in a bad neighborhood and the students there are not friendly. Can any alumnis tell me how true these myths are? Thanks a bunch.</p>
<p>"or even ivy graduates"</p>
<p>just wanted to point out that wharton grads are also ivy grads</p>
<p>yeah, sorry about that. I guess I meant "most ivies" rather than "ivies" in that most ivy students with comparable career goals major in economics while the UPenn business kids major directly in finance, etc. with emphasis on pre-professional training. Does anyone know about my original questions? Thanks.</p>
<p>Penn's campus & surroundings are fairly safe, if you exercise common sense. The area gets seedier as you get further away from the campus. As far as friendliness, with 10,000 undergrads, you should be able to make some friends. Don't forget Penn's nickname is "the social ivy"</p>
<p>you can look up the employment and recruitment statistics, they're quite impressive.</p>
<p>My brother is an investment banker straight out of Wharton, and was competing with kids from Harvard, Stanford, etc. He was at the top of his training class and was put in the most prestigious department, because he knew a lot of practical applications from Wharton, whereas the econ grads only knew theory.</p>
<p>Also, the Philadelphia area has a bad reputation, but the area around Penn ("University City") is fine, and not anything like inner-city.</p>
<p>Anyway, ym bro has had a great experience at Wharton and subsequently when he was looking for jobs, and he was happy with his education. It convinced me to apply ED to Penn</p>
<p>Um, are you confusing Penn with Washingtion University? Thats in University City, St. Louis County.</p>
<p>No TPeck, Penn is also located in University City (really just Philly but that is the district we are in, as opposed to Center City which is downtown).</p>
<p>I've definitely heard of my fellow alums being able to skip training at places like Goldman because they already knew everything. Or being able to do tougher projects in a shorter amount of time, or being given more responsibility and higher-level projects because they were ready for that coming in.</p>
<p>Penn's bad rap for being unsafe was from 10 years ago and the area is completely different now. So much has changed even since I graduated and that was just a few years ago. There are tons of shops and restaurants on and immediately around campus. I think both Penn and Philly are totally underrated in this aspect. Being in a city is a huge bonus - especially a city like Philly because it's manageable and walkable but has all the benefits of a large city. Of course, being in a city you also have to be smart so don't walk around alone at 2am flashing your money around. But really that applies to any urban campus, not just Penn.</p>
<p>As far as the students go, I think that there is always an adjustment period you need to go through and you can't get discouraged if you don't make instant friends with everyone around you. The best thing is that there are 10,000 undergrads at Penn. So no matter what you are like or what you are into, there are people out there that you will connect with whether that be through your college house, classes, extra curriculars, etc. Penn is definitely the social ivy and you will definitely meet a lot of people and make a lot of friends. It is what you make of it. I wouldn't call Penn students unfriendly at all, although I am sure there are people that you won't like - which you will find everywhere.</p>
<p>Re OP: I've heard that the campus is in a bad neighborhood</p>
<p>On both of my visits to penn, someone I knew got mugged (one junior at penn who I was staying with, and my dad). Probably a coincidence esp. b/c we stayed out late a lot but take that as you will...</p>
<p>My friend goes to Wharton. She told me that there where a few mugging in the last year, and 2-3 attempted rapes. Just don't...umm...wander around by yourself and you'll be fine.</p>
<p>It's a major city so you need to be realistic - obviously there is going to be crime. You just need to be smart about it.</p>