<p>Hello cleverthinkin,</p>
<p>I’m glad to hear of your interest in finance. I am an associate with Blackstone currently and an '02 alum of Stanford. I’ve had contact through recruiting with students from each of the schools you mentioned.</p>
<p>First of all, all of those are great schools. I have colleagues at Blackstone from each of them. Wharton of course is traditionally strong in business; however, I have interviewed a number of UPenn students as well as those at Northwestern, and the ones in Northwestern’s MMSS and Kellogg certificate programs impressed me the most. Their quantitative skills and liberal arts backgrounds are highly valued at Blackstone; sometimes I feel that Wharton’s education is too narrowly focused.</p>
<p>Although most people look towards Wharton as a traditional segway into business, I think it’s great that you are considering Northwestern. I think the academic programs there will allow them to do very well in recruiting in the future. Wharton, of course, has its advantages, and you need to decide whether you want to study business in-depth or have a broader education. Both will position you well to move into finance.</p>