<p>I am a Stanford undergrad. I’d like to tell you to go to Berkeley but that would make the decision to easy. Here is a quick list of my thoughts but I would urge you to read the final paragraph.
UPenn
- More prestigious
- Closer to Wall Street
- Ivy
- Everyone does ibanking and consulting (from friends who’ve told me)
- Far away from home
- Expensive</p>
<p>Berkeley
- Amazing engineering programs
- Great business finance tracks (at least from the grad programs I looked at)
- Best state school (imo)
- In state tuition
- A state school
- Far from Wall Street</p>
<p>You did not mention tuition as an issue. I will assume you can figure out a way to make the financial details work.</p>
<p>I chose the school I felt the happiest at when I visited. Ironically my experience didn’t turn out to be as fun as I expected but I have learned so much from my time in college.</p>
<p>If I were picking again, I would still choose Stanford, hands down but for different reasons. I would choose it because it would make me a stronger person, a more loving person, and a wiser person.</p>
<p>You can get these experiences at any school, especially so at any top school.</p>
<p>I would suggest you think critically about the location. That has turned out to be the biggest factor that I love about Stanford. The bay area is so awesome but I definitely did not realize this before I came to school. Tahoe 4 hours away, Yosemite 5 hours away, SF just a train/BART ride away. Not to mention, if you are interested in money, Silicon Valley is the home of many successful startups. I can’t speak to UPenn but Berkeley is just as conveniently located in this regard.</p>
<p>Finally, what do YOU want from your college experience? I prized getting a computer science degree at a top school among more than just engineers. You may want a school that earns you big bucks but some of the richest people in the world have no degree (Gates, Zuckerberg, Branson).</p>
<p><em>Think about what you want from the experience not what ‘next step’ it will get you too.</em></p>