<p>Hello,</p>
<p>I plan to major in Finance and Mathematics and to pursue a career in consulting (ideally at a top-3 firm). I'm currently deliberating between attending Wharton at Penn or taking a full-ride at UNC-CH.</p>
<p>The two are approximately equidistant for me, and I could be decently happy at either. My main concern is the cost/benefit of Wharton's network/presitge for job opportunities after my undergraduate. </p>
<p>Wharton would cost over $200k. If I attend UNC-CH, I don't have to pay anything. Plus, UNC would let me to keep outside scholarships, so I would have at least $2k/year to cover other expenses (travel, books, etc.) </p>
<p>Financially, UNC is the clear winner. But I'm worried that my internship/job opportunities would be severely limited. So these are my real questions:</p>
<p>Is Kenan-Flagler at all well-known or prestigious (on a national level versus regionally)? Business Week ranks it in the top ten BBA programs (Best</a> Undergraduate Business Schools 2011 - Businessweek), but rankings are very subjective. </p>
<p>After college, I want to return to the Midwest (potentially working in Chicago) instead of staying in the south. Since K-F grads tend to stay in the south, will my networking opportunities and job placement very restricted? </p>
<p>Which would you choose?</p>
<p>Thank you for the advice!</p>
<p>Kickass at K-F and doors will be open.</p>
<p>Thank you for your input! Do you think this is true even if I wish to move back to the Midwest? According to K-F’s statistics, approximately 60% of graduates found jobs in the southeast, while less than 10% did so in the Midwest. (Obviously, more <strong>pursue</strong> careers in the southeast, but still, there won’t be much of a network back in Chicago.)</p>
<p>If you are a top student, then the opportunities will exist. Companies are flexible.</p>
<p>The other way to think about would be that alumni in Chicago would be more receptive to helping you because they rarely have the opportunity to do so.</p>
<p>I’m usually all in on the side of going with the scholarship and avoiding debt, but this is one of the very rare instances where the extra cost is probably justified. Kenan-Flagler is an outstanding school, but it’s not Wharton.</p>
<p>The methodology is certainly open to question, but:
[College</a> Education Value Rankings - PayScale 2012 College ROI Report](<a href=“http://www.payscale.com/college-education-value]College”>College Education Value Rankings - PayScale 2013 College ROI Report)</p>
<p>If you’re looking for a Master degree in the near future,
you should go to K-F and save up money for Grad school.
But if you don’t see a Master/MBA within 5 to 10 years,
go for Wharton.</p>
<p>Another thing you have to consider is that
you might do ok in Wharton but excellent in KF.
Do you want to be an A+ student in an A school
or an A or B+ student in an A+ school.
(I know KF is closed to A+ too, just to make a comparison
to Wharton, I have to downgrade it a little bit)</p>
<p>Forget the money, go to Wharton. It’s a once in a lifetime opportunity at the best business school. The brand alone is worth all the money. If you do worse at Wharton, it’ll still be alright.</p>
<p>Other than that, just go to the one which will help you enjoy your college years more. UNC would probably be much happier to study at.</p>
<p>Wharton in a heartbeat. Once in a lifetime opportunities only come, well, once in a lifetime. Take advantage of it. It is a priceless education and let’s be honest here, prestige matters in business and having a degree from Wharton next to your name is beyond words. You won’t need to get an MBA if you graduate from Wharton.</p>
<p>K-F is not viewed on the same level as even the better public schools, UVa, Berkeley, UMich much less Wharton and other top Ivys. You have the top 10 schools+top 3 publics on 1 level. Then K-F leads the second tier. Go to Wharton. You will make up the finances in 2 years. </p>
<p>Also, yes, K-F will restrict your opportunities because it is a public university. Students that graduate from mediocre public universities end up working in their region since the recruiters only recruit in their respective regions. However, Wharton on the other hand will open the door to endless opportunities.</p>
<p>What a surprising response given your user name…</p>
<p>This is not nearly as easy of a decision as you make it sound. You can still go MBB from UNC if you do well.</p>
<p>I would say go to Wharton, but FutureHYPStud69’s comment is ridiculous. There is no way you will make up the difference in two years.</p>
<p>I am cc student in chicago and I want to transfer as a sophmore into either uva, k-f, nyu or cornell aem. I have a 3.6 gpa with some ecc with mediocre gpa of 2.6. Would I be able to transfer to any of these schools?</p>
<p>Not a single person’s advice has been relevant to your situation because we are missing a very important component - what do you want to do after graduation?</p>
<p>I hope to work in management consulting, preferably at BCG, Bain, or McKinsey. BCG does recruit at both Kenan-Flagler and Wharton, but, of course, Wharton is much more heavily recruited. (Last year, I think ~15 Whartonites went to BCG alone.) I think Kenan-Flagler is a fairly strong business school, but my main concern is the alumni network in the Midwest. Since I am from the Midwest, I think I would prefer to return to the area (ideally, Chicago) after graduation. </p>
<p>I know that those are pretty lofty goals, so Wharton’s network would definitely make them easier/more likely to achieve. But does going to Kenan-Flagler still give me a shot? </p>
<p>Also, how would you compare Kenan-Flagler to UIUC’s College of Business? I also have a scholarship offer there.</p>
<p>I’d say Kenan-Flagler is much stronger than UIUC. But if being in Chicago is really important to you then UIUC will probably fare better in that respect. With regards to everything else though, (minus accounting) UNC is better.</p>