Wharton vs. Stern (finance)

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Pennsylvania
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<p>Both of these schools are notoriously famous for their finance departments and I have a hard time deciding between the two. Assuming I got in both (I got into Stern, waiting for the other) and that we will not in this wretched economy four years from now, which one is better? </p>

<p>In terms of: Intelligence (social as well as intellectual), Competitiveness and Friendliness of the Student Body, Level of Attention Given to Students by Professors/Guidance Counselors, Level of Depth (Pre-Professionalism) in Major, Uniqueness/Effectiveness of the Core Curriculum, Strength of Liberal Arts Curriculum (or availability, usefulness, and depth of elective courses), Availability of Resources (libraries, computers, new equipment, special lectures, etc.), Availability of Summer Internships and Study Abroad Programs, Strength of Alumni Network, Job Placement at Wall Street (and other firms in the Northeast), Starting Salary, Feeder into Law/Business School, etc.</p>

<p>Excluding: Money, Prestige, Rankings (they are 1/2, so that's not that much of a difference), Location, Housing (I'm sure the dorms at NYU are livable compared to my room), Safety, etc.</p>

<p>I would like a non-biased, supported answer, or at least a biased one with objective evidence. Please don't defame Wharton or Stern on this thread, as they are both great undergraduate business schools with amazing reputations in finance. If the academics are comparable, should I go for fit or is there a something else I should consider? I am slightly leaning towards Stern myself for several reasons, including overall fit and convenience, but I would like to have more input about the schools before I make my final decision. Thanks for your comments.</p>

2

<p>i want to know too! got into stern, waiting on penn</p>

3

<p>I know some people who transferred from Stern to Wharton and NYU CAS to Penn CAS, but haven’t heard of anyone at Penn leaving for NYU…</p>

<p>In most fields (outside of philosophy) Penn will have a better liberal arts department than NYU.</p>

<p>Wharton is part of Penn and will have a more cohesive and engaging student body (and one less prone to doing hilariously stupid things like “occupying” their cafeteria in a sad farce of 1968).</p>

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<p>From talking to a limited sample (around three or four) of people in the business world, i.e., investment bankers, consultants, and entrepreneurs, it seems that Wharton has the best reputation and the highest prestige. On the other hand, they did not mention Stern as one of the top. They were all impressed with Haas, Wharton, Stanford, Sloan, Harvard, and Tuck. One investment banker said that he only hired people from Wharton or Haas, but I suppose that may just be one banker’s bias. Nonetheless, in terms of reputation, Wharton beats Stern hands down. But actual quality of education + overall fit is something that I don’t know, since reputation does not always mean that the education will actually be better…it seems too subjective.</p>

5

<p>I go to Columbia, but I have family members who recently graduated from penn, and I’ve also been there several times now (obviously hung out at NYU have many friends at NYU and Stern in particular). Without a shadow of a doubt choose Wharton. Penn has double the endowment and half the students, that means better professors, more research, stronger departments all round, more financial aid so more socio-economic diversity. Penn is more difficult to get into, the competition is fierce (this is good preparation for business). You can’t get a better school at placing on wall street than Wharton, Harvard is comparable. Stern simply isn’t as good at getting people into top jobs as Wharton, even if it’s the second best undergrad business school, other top schools like H, P, Columbia all arguably place better than stern. It sucks to go to a school like NYU without any campus feel, where’s the lazing around on a lawn? where’s the Frisbee in the fall, the snowball fights? Penn has a great campus, NYU barely has a campus. </p>

<p>The only thing NYU has going for it is New York, and from Wharton you have a better chance at ending up at a top firm in New York after you graduate. Better feeder for law and business. Wharton and Penn have the name recognition with anyone that matters. And Penn is just a powerhouse of resources, great research, professors, facilities etc. </p>

<p>Unless you absolutely must live in the hippest area in the world, and would throw up at the idea of moving to a city with only a few million people, the choice is clear.</p>

6

<p>Wharton by far.</p>

<p>Then again, who says you’ll get into Wharton? I applied ED for Wharton and got deferred (and I consider myself an above-par applicant). It was an amazingly tough pool this year, and an amazingly tough RD pool as well. I hope you get in, but don’t bank of Wharton being a shoo-in for you. It’s tough…</p>

<p>It’s not even close between Wharton and Stern though. I got into Stern (got my early write today), but I’m not especially ecstatic or anything. Stern is good for finance, especially because of the proximity to Wall Street, but Wharton’s reputation trumps all.</p>

<p>Recruiters go to Wharton first. And anyways, Stern in terms of rankings have dropped to 15th overall (dunno about finance in particular) because they haven’t been able to get their graduates jobs. Then again, those same rankings had McIntire 1st, so who knows (heck, I got into UVa, so if it’s “better” than Wharton, good for me =] )…</p>

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<p>Yeah. End of story.</p>

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<p>I’m not sure why Stern is considered a good school at all. Professors are a-holes (first hand experience, not rumor) and easy to get into (if you’re in this forum, you’re well above average).</p>

<p>Wharton, on the other hand, is a very well-respected school. Its staff is nonresponsive to any contacts (messages on answering machines and emails --and not for just admission process. I was contacting concerning other stuff during the span of a year) has a cut-throat atmosphere (everyone is the best on their home turf so comes in as a prick thinking me>all) and the school is incestuous in its business (you need to know somebody to get anything.) </p>

<p>The more I think about it, the more I think that even with an admission into Wharton, I’ll not attend.
positive interactions with Wharton: 0
negative interactions with Wharton: 6</p>

9

<p>Both Stern and Wharton give excellent finance education.
Either one should be fine.
Many of the successful finance professionals went stern and wharton.
Both are equally good</p>

10

<p>I got into Stern and am waiting on Wharton. I doubt I’ll get in, but I would choose Wharton over Stern in a heartbeat.</p>

11

<p>Wharton. Alumni network is amazing.</p>

12

<p>Both Wharton and Stern offer excellent finance education. Either school will be fine.
Both school use similar textbooks, similar quality of professors</p>