Yale Econ and Wharton

Colleges and Universities A-Z Yale University
1

<p>In terms of business opportunities, recruitment, and overall student life, would it be worth applying early decision to Wharton and possibly forgoing every applying to HYP?</p>

<p>I definitely don't think I can automatically get into Wharton, but I'm conflicted about whether if I do get in, I would be limiting myself from possibly better choices. I don't want to have a little voice nagging me in the back of my head.</p>

<p>There are things like Yale's residential colleges that are really making this such a difficult decision. Every school has something that I really like. Is Wharton truly the definitive best place to get a business education for an undergraduate student, or is HYP really a lot better and worthy of applying to as well?</p>

<p>In the end, I know these are all top schools, but I'd like to hear from some graduates and possibly students at these schools on weighing the options. How did those in a similar situation make a decision? I'm posting this in the UPenn + HYP forums to get a dose of every "bias".</p>

<p>Thanks.</p>

2

<p>I’m at H and my best friend’s at Wharton.</p>

<p>In terms of post-grad opportunities, they are all the same. I just think HYP offer a better undergrad experience than Penn.</p>

<p>I just don’t think Penn’s campus compares to those of HYP – I just found it sort of ugly and little depressing. The undergrads at HYP tend to be a little more intellectual than Quakers, I have found. That may or may not be important to you.</p>

<p>The party scene at Penn is supposed to be a little better though.</p>

3

<p>I’ve gotten the feeling that HYP has a better undergraduate experience and more opportunities with regards to student life. I’m just so conflicted between that and the business opportunities of Wharton. I think at this point I won’t end up applying early to Penn.</p>

4

<p>Bump, any more opinions?</p>

5

<p>How is the social atmosphere and student life? You like the campus in comparison to others? I know it’s subjective, but I’d like to hear everybody’s personal opinion.</p>

<p>I just want to compare the programs, student life, campuses and hear from different students before truly committing to Wharton ED.</p>

6

<p>For investment banking and similar pursuits, all four will put you in terrific shape, as will a degree from Penn in economics, for that matter. Penn has long borne a reputation as a pre-professional school, which is a bit unfortunate, tied largely to the prominence of Wharton and the perceived, relative weakness of its (other) undergraduate programs decades ago. None of that is particularly relevant today (or tomorrow, I presume), owing to Penn’s emphasis on the undergraduate experience, the breadth of its offerings, and the perhaps unparalleled opportunities to take courses across the various schools within the university. Penn is now one of the truly elite universities in the U.S. (and world), including at the college level.</p>

<p>As for Penn’s campus, I had never heard anyone describe it as depressing or ugly, and many comment on it as the quintessential urban campus in the U.S., at least in the Northeast. In fact, not so many years ago, a commentator from Harvard made such an envious reference. For what it’s worth, I prefer the campus to Harvard and equal to Yale given its general layout, architecture, and integrated nature (with all of the schools located quite near each other and on the same true, contiguous campus). </p>

<p>From a purely educational perspective, I would find it very difficult to recommend foregoing an opportunity to study economics or the like at HYP for an undergraduate business degree – unless the student planned to take a broad array of courses from across Penn’s offerings, and, even more preferably, pursued a double major crossing over into Penn’s CLAS (I assume this is possible?). I believe that Penn requires Wharton undergraduates to take a number of courses outside of the business school, and perhaps that is enough for some, but the broader the better as I see it. This is college, after all. </p>

<p>I also cannot imagine that a degree in economics or a similar field from HYP could put anyone at a disadvantage for any career relative to an undergraduate degree from Wharton. For one who focuses very narrowly at Wharton, the opposite may well be true for any number of potential pursuits, including graduate school. For one who focuses broadly at Penn, the opportunities afforded by the university probably now equal those from the (deservedly) illustrious HYP trio.</p>

7

<p>What a great response. Thank you.</p>

8

<p>So 1a1, what are you leaning towards, I’m stuck in the same situation as well.</p>

9

<p>Probably applying Wharton ED. As admissions gets even more difficult, any advantage is helpful. How about you? What have you thought about doing?</p>

10

<p>Yale and Princeton will not get you nearly as far as Wharton in job recruiters minds. Harvard, however, is a different story. You trade your opportunity at Harvard for the security of a commitment to Wharton.</p>

11

<p>My impression from my research: Wharton, Harvard, and Princeton are the indisputable top for finance/business. Yale is slightly below those three but still very good nonetheless.</p>

12

<p>Anyone on here who tries to think of Wharton ED as a relatively safe bet is crazy. CCers get slaughtered in the Wharton ED round. every single year, and it’s because they don’t really fit the program and just view it as “safer than HYP”</p>

13

<p>I’m sure some people get slaughtered every year thinking similarly when applying Yale SCEA, when there is a strong argument to them being more selective then.</p>

14

<p>Among this august group of schools, go where you think you will enjoy the overall educational experience the most. Saying that one is materially better than the others – Yale not comparing quite with Princeton, Penn or Harvard in finance for example – probably grossly misses the mark. If a given individual matriculates at Yale and pursues a reasonably similar course of study than he would have at the other universities, he will likely have the same career opportunities. </p>

<p>Indeed, the representational differences in various industries or sectors (particularly common ones like finance and banking) among these schools are mostly a matter of self selection, such that while there might be slightly fewer, say, Yale grads in a field, the forthcoming Yale grads will be just that much more distinctive and compete with correspondingly fewer fellow Yalies for the given array of opportunities. These are remarkably impressive institutions, and a prospective student faced with the rare and enviable luxury of choosing among them ultimately will succeed best by picking for personal fit.</p>

15

<p>Couldn’t have said it better myself, howaboutthat! Well done. On a personal note, my son did pick Yale over Harvard & Princeton, and he is leaning toward math & econ as majors, possibly going into finance. Yale was his personal fit.</p>