<p>But this time, I want to ask the recruiters/seasoned veterans in the business. Which undergraduate school is more sought after as a target school by finance, accounting, and other business jobs. I know Harvard is more known to the layman, but which one is more sought after (i figure in the professional world everyone knows Wharton, correct?). Moreover, if you go to one of this schools, are you safe in the current economy/job market, or will you struggle getting jobs even at these? (btw, I will be graduating from Wharton in 2013 (ug), so I guess you'd have to think about the job market 4 years from now).</p>
<p>harvard just has more diversity since they have more than just business majors. meaning, quant and prop trading shops recruit more for their math majors, etc.</p>
<p>regardless, the fact is you CAN get the same opportunities at harvard without getting stuck in a boring vocational curriculum (business). go to harvard and get a real education.</p>
<p>Either will get you any interview with thee right GPA. I’d choose Harvard and I went to Wharton. You don’t need to specialize to that extent at this point. The only reason to enter a business program is if you want to be an accountant and no one at Wharton does.</p>
<p>yea the reason I asked this question is because Ill be going to Wharton. I applied there early decision, and I am now wondering if i should have done RD and tried Harvard. But dont think for a second that I am regretting Wharton! (i love it there). It’s just the only other school I’d pick over Wharton is Harvard so I thought ED would be a good strategic move.</p>
<p>Don’t rethink it. Wharton is great and Penn gives you all the extras. Get a great GPA and the world is your oyster. And the food is better at W, I still miss the food carts!</p>
<p>This thread kinda depresses me… I basically took Wharton over Harvard because I’m a more practical person and I wouldn’t be a very big advocate for the ‘well rounded education’ but it seems the more I read (even though I’m assuming most of it is biased) these forums the more it seems that businesses “want” a more liberal education from their recruits… Now I’m starting to get a little disheartened at my decision, though I don’t regret it. I loved Penn’s campus far better and have spent plenty of nights at Harvard never really enjoying myself nearly as much as I did the few times I went to Penn. That’s one man’s opinion though… but if Harvard is better then it’s still something to think about…</p>
<p>Actually, you’re right—that was inaccurate. You don’t need any business degree at all. Many successful business owners have had no formal business education at all. It’s mostly about creativity, ingenuity, and logic—all of which a liberal arts education give you.</p>
<p>However, if you <em>are</em> going to get some degree in business, an MBA is much more valuable than an undergraduate degree. The majority of top CEO’s have an MBA.</p>
<p>Sorry for the confusion. I’m glad we agree that undergrad business degrees (and business degrees in general) are mostly useless, which is especially funny considering how many business majors deride liberal arts as useless.</p>
<p>Now, now – I’m sure there are plenty of reasons why an undergrad would want to get a business degree. If the OP has his reasons, then his going to Wharton makes sense and it’ll surely be a rewarding experience for him.</p>
<p>I despise undergrad business degrees because it’s contradictory to my personal views on education: college should be a time where you truly push yourself and expand into new domains of academia. The best four years of your life should NOT be about mechanically “building” yourself toward any specific vocational goal by piecing together accounting and finance courses and internships, etc. Like kameronsmith said, anything you want to learn about business you can learn in business school and on the job. Why not study something totally off the beaten path if it interests you even if it doesn’t look good to a Goldman Sachs recruiter? Harvard - a liberal arts college - gives you that opportunity; Wharton does not.</p>
<p>Actually, that’s not even really an issue. They’re fully open to recruiting everything from English majors to African Studies… you just have to show intelligence (and a Harvard degree).</p>
<p>I’ll likely be attending Wharton in the fall. In all honesty, I don’t want my undergraduate experience to be entirely pre-professional, but I’m happy enough with the options available for studying liberal arts (and the BFS program to augment that) in addition to business courses. It was also the only American school I got into, so I don’t have much of a choice hah.</p>
<p>I think the attitude towards the liberal arts in this topic is uniquely American, in a way. Even in Canada, studying liberal arts (as in humanities or social sciences) limits you to law school or grad school. I don’t think the same stigma is attached to undergraduate business programs.</p>
<p>If I were to stay in Canada to do business, my undergraduate education would be almost entirely business courses. If I did liberal arts, employment would be an issue. I’ll gladly take a compromise :)</p>
<p>When you are at Wharton, you take over 40% of your courses in the liberal arts.
You can add on minors or even a dual degree in the college. For the dual degree, you just need a 3.0 (nothing else).</p>