Wharton vs. Stern (finance)

College Search & Selection
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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>

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<p>I’m a Wharton grad so there’s a chance I’m biased, but I have not met a single person who chose Stern over Wharton. The Wharton student body–your future peers–is much, much stronger. You’ll meet a ton of kids at Stern who wanted Wharton.</p>

<p>I also have hired from both schools for three decades. Again, no comparison, Wharton grads are much more in demand.</p>

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<p>You got into Stern, yet you used ‘notoriously’ incorrectly?</p>

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<p>Diontechristmas, I think I used “notoriously” right. Correct me if I’m wrong, but they are both “notoriously famous” for the rigor and academic difficulty of their finance programs. It can’t be that long since I took the SAT’s now, could it :)?
Thanks, hmom5, for the input. I do know one kid who went to Stern instead of Wharton because of the fit issue, but this would probably be in the minority. I’ll consider the student body, but I have a question. How much stronger is stronger, in this case? I would like a group that would challenge me but would also allow me to be ahead of the pack, not a group of uber-workaholics/geniuses that I would struggle to compete against.</p>

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<p>I was under the impression that “notorious” suggested something unfavorable or bad.</p>

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<p>Notorious is a synonym for infamous, and although it can mean widely known, that meaning is outdated.</p>

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<p>I’d say Wharton. Wharton simply opens more doors than Stern does.</p>

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<p>they both open doors, but Wharton has the added bonus of UPenn attached to its name. Also, it is probably much harder to get into Wharton than Stern.</p>

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<p>Diontechristmas, that’s why I still have my 1982 copy of the Oxford Dictionary. It’s older than I am!
Wow, the unanimous consensus is Wharton. Can’t say I’m surprised, though, this is CC.</p>

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<p>Only the top Stern grads have access to the jobs the average Wharton grad does. What’s your career goal?</p>

<p>Wharton is substantially harder to get into.</p>

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<p>vinnyli, I don’t think anyone here is disparaging NYU Stern. It is a fantastic school that people turn down the likes of UPenn, Cornell, Dartmouth, etc to attend partially attributable to both its prestige in the business world and in NYC, a (at least previous) hotbed for all things business and economics related.</p>

<p>However, from personal knowledge and experience. Wharton graduates are in at least equal to higher demand even in the city of New York.</p>

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<p>My career goal? Corporate Finance Lawyer.
And yes, the people here have not been bashing Stern, and I’m thankful for that.</p>

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<p>If you want to be a Corporate Finance Lawyer, I think you should be more worried about finding a good law school like Yale or Harvard to focus on Corporate Law. Undergrad experience in finance is not necessary, but it certainly helps.</p>

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<p>I dont see why you would pick Stern over Wharton to begin with. Stern isn’t really #2 in Finance because there are a lot of other target schools that banks would rather hire from, even if those schools didn’t offer a Finance major. These school would include: Yale, Harvard, MIT, etc</p>

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<p>Being a finance major gives one better job security than most other jobs. For law school, I have my heart set for Columbia or NYU (or maybe even Harvard, and UPenn) JD/MBA, but that’s for later. No need to rush.</p>

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<p>if you’re aiming for Law School, make sure you are taking a major you truly enjoy. High GPA’s and LSATs are basically the most important things in a person’s law school application.</p>

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<p>Wow, Hope2getrice, you’ve been very helpful to me. Thanks.
I like finance because it’s practical, deals with math, and shows off my organizational/managerial skills. Plus, it’s a great asset for law school.</p>

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<p>no problem vinnyli.
fair warning to you though, as I have friends both in Stern and at Wharton: the competition is pretty thick.
At Stern, grades are based on a curve and students are extreme enough to do anything to be part of the small “elite” that get the A’s in class. That said, Stern undergrads are treated much better than other NYU peers, with weekly (or monthly?) presentations reserved only for Stern students given by major CEOs and speakers, and also special “Stern lounges” for Stern students only. A lot to most of the Stern Students dress rather formally to classes and activities.
At Wharton, students are very competitive as well. That said, grading will be tough as everyone is striving for that perfect GPA. Wharton kids are usually more proud (for good or for bad) than their UPenn peers and are sometimes seen by other UPenn-ers as “stuck up.” That said, the alumni networking is brilliant with plenty of seminars and Wharton-only attention. </p>

<p>In some ways, both of these schools are extremely similar. Both of them are pretty cutthroat and you’ll have to work hard to earn a grade that you want. However, if the time comes for you to make the choice, I suggest you spend 1-2 days at each campus, maybe as a sleep-over, to contemplate where you feel the most comfortable in. Many students enjoy the lack of campus culture at NYU and appreciate the independence it affords them, while some may lean more towards the Campus atmosphere at Penn. Also, Philadelphia and NYC are very different cities and, generally, NYC is respected as the safer and more opportunity-laden of the two.</p>

<p>I saw that you were considering Cornell and McDonough as well. From my understanding, both of those schools will give you less competitive environments, especially for your intended goals. However, think about this. Hopefully, if you can get into all four, you will spend time considering what type of college environment you want, what type of people you want to be around, and how hard you want to work for your grades. GTown and Cornell will have competition too, no doubt about it, but I suspect they are both a lot more laid back in comparison to the high-energy competitiveness that is characteristic of both Stern and Wharton.</p>

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<p>lolololololololololololololololololol</p>

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<p>Vinny iIm just guessing from your posts that you are from NY/NJ, you sound kind of NY centric. You seem to think, for example, NYU is a top law school and Stern might be the peer of Wharton.</p>

<p>As you get older and see more of the would, if my guess is right, you’ll probably be talking about Harvard, Stanford and Yale for law school and you’ll want some great finance internships meanwhile. Wharton will be of more help to you in that regard.</p>