<p>Hey guys, I was very fortunate this year to get into Yale, but I also got into Wharton, Dartmouth, and Stern-Scholars. My parents want me to go to Yale because they both did, but I dont know I liked Wharton a lot more. So what do you guys think I should do? Thanks - DAN</p>
<p>I can completely understand the problem that you are facing. However, you have answered the question for yourself by saying you “liked Wharton a lot more.” College is about finding yourself and doing the things your enjoy, if you like the feel of Wharton more than Yale than by all means matriculate at Wharton. However, please visit both campuses again before making a decision. Meet some of the professors, talk to current and future students, really explore the campus and ultimately wherever you go you will be making the right decision because you are choosing between Yale and Wharton.</p>
<p>Thanks. I dont know if it will go over well with my parents because they forced my older brother to choose Yale over his first choice, Princeton. I guess they will end up doing the same to me.</p>
<p>Is there anything I could say to convince my parents to send me to Wharton instead?</p>
<p>Explain to them why you prefer Wharton. If they won’t agree immediately, ask if you can visit both schools during their admitted students’ days (this will show your parents that you are giving Yale serious consideration). If you can show that you are making a thoughtful decision based on what is best for you, perhaps they will give in. Or, perhaps when you visit Yale, you’ll realize that it’s actually better, :).</p>
<p>I already visited, but I will tell my parents that we should visit again. I just like Philly more than New Haven, and the kids I met at Penn seemed to be more my type of crowd. But my parents want me to uphold the “family tradition” What are the big party frats at Yale? Maybe, I will find something I like there. thanks a lot - DAN</p>
<p>Sigma Alpha Epsilon and Sigma Nu are popular. The Greek scene at Yale is prominent if you want it to be, but it isn’t overwhelming for students who aren’t into that kind of thing. It just a matter of where you hang out. There are plenty of frats and they always have parties a few times a week. If you want to learn more visit this site, they have tons of stuff about frats (it starts about 2/3 down the page but the entire article is interesting if you care to read it):</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.conspiracyarchive.com/NWO/Tombs_and_Taps.htm[/url]”>http://www.conspiracyarchive.com/NWO/Tombs_and_Taps.htm</a></p>
<p>I think that ultimately you should pick the school that you like the most. Since they’re both great schools, the “vibe” you get from each school will be the determinant.</p>
<p>However, I do think that a liberal arts education is extremely important, and that’s not something you can get studying at Wharton during your undergraduate years. Yes, you can take an array of liberal arts courses if you study at Wharton, but you are bound to quite a large extent to the business-oriented curriculum, which means a lot of number-crunching and not as many opportunities to expand yourself intellectually.</p>
<p>In terms of getting a job, it’s just as difficult to get a good job if you get a Wharton undergraduate degree as it is if you get a B.A. from Yale since you’re competing against people who just got MBAs and had an undergraduate education, in addition to job experience, which makes them seem more educated and well-rounded. Top firms hire scores of HYP graduates a year, even if they majored in something like history or english. They put you in a training program for a few weeks and the first two years of your job are basically a learning experience (with lucrative compensation). I just want you to get a sense of the fact that the Wharton degree itself is not more or less valuable than a B.A. from Yale. What’s really important is who you are as a job candidate, and your undergraduate experience can really shape you (for better or for the best). I also think that, since business school is essentially a trade school, it really helps to have work experience before attending.</p>
<p>It’s also important to realize that at Wharton you’re competing against your entire class for the best jobs; at Yale, not nearly as many people apply for positions in finance/consulting/whatever your job interests may be.</p>
<p>If you think long and hard about what you want to achieve in college, you may start to look at Yale more favorably. As you’ve probably concluded, I’m biased, but I’m sure you expected that from at least someone on this forum :). Go Bulldogs!</p>
<p>thanks a lot! I think I will visit next weekend if I can find a frat that I like then I guess Yale it is. Recruitment doesnt matter for me I have a job waiting for me at a BB firm either under my dad or uncle, so I am just looking for a school where I will have the most fun and learn some interesting stuff.</p>
<p>That one comment that everyone from Wharton is applying to the same places for consulting/banking and the conclusion you draw from it is a little misguided. Wharton is a very small program and Yale is huge in comparison. The total # of students from Yale applying to those places is probably greater actually (while the overall percentage of the student body interested would be lower). You can go to career services on Penn’s website and look at where Wharton students are employed. Despite the competition, many, many students get jobs at the best firms.</p>
<p>I never said that Wharton students don’t get top jobs; I just said that career-wise it doesn’t really matter if you go to Wharton over Yale since Yale undergraduates also get jobs at top firms. While it may be true that more Yale College students apply for business jobs than do Wharton students (I’m not sure of this), it’s also true that at Wharton you’re competing against the Wharton MBA students as well as domestic and international MBA students. I think that in terms of competitiveness in getting a business job there is not much difference between the applicant pool from undergraduates schools versus the pool of students from places like Wharton (MBA programs included, of course).</p>
<p>This is not my main qualm with Wharton undergrad. My real problem with it is that it leaves students unversed in many academic subjects that not only make a person intellectually developed and interesting, but also help out when working in business.</p>
<p>In investment banking, for instance, an MBA isn’t necessary to learn the skills of the trade. Without an MBA, as an analyst your first two years are essentially a paid learning experience. What you won’t learn as an undergraduate in a business program are liberal arts materials–philosophy and history and religion and psychology, etc–that make you an interesting person and can help you secure deals with other companies by making their schmoozing experience with you more pleasurable (that’s what investment banking is really about).</p>
<p>In trading, it’s not so much the skills you learn in business that are important, but rather advanced mathematics that you can more easily approach in at college. I have a few friends in New York who got jobs at major firms right out of college and are now in their mid-20s and making seven figures.</p>
<p>While there are benefits to studying business as an undergraduate, from my perspective those programs are overrated. I think the reason graduate MBA programs really exist is to open new doors for people who chose a non-business path after college or find themselves in a dead end in terms of career possibilities and want to get a fresh start.</p>
<p>I am choosing Yale! I cant wait.</p>
<p>As a Wharton undergraduate you are not, “competing against the Wharton MBA students as well as domestic and international MBA students.” Wharton undergraduate apply for analyst positions for the most part and MBA candidates apply for associate positions. Two very different things. Yale is great though; good choice.</p>
<p>dantheman–The social scene at Yale is surprisingly good, if that was one of your concerns. I doubt you’ll regret your decision.</p>
<p>yeah it looks more chilled out than Wharton</p>
<p>Lanzabelle, your comments about undergraduate Wharton students competing with MBA-level students show that you don’t fully understand the recruiting process. Wharton undergraduate students in most cases get entry-level analyst positions. The difference is that down the road they have an easier time advancing to associate level without an MBA than a Yale graduate would have.</p>
<p>Only for a few positions - like top level hedge funds and PE groups - are you competing with Wharton MBA students, but that is only because they normally don’t hire undergrads. </p>
<p>As for liberal arts in a business program, roughly half of all courses in the Wharton curriculum are taken in the college at Penn.</p>
<p>Also the arguments for why liberal arts help in investment banking are very weak and even a tad ignorant. IBs care about quality not conversation. Sure you can do well with a yale degree, but wharton prepares you much better for the business world. Look at the wharton alumni in the business world compared to the yale alumni for undergrad.</p>
<p>Congratulations on your decision 
I hope you have a great time at Yale. I’m sure it will be just as enriching an experience.</p>
<p>Good choice. Choosing Wharton over Yale would be a mistake, IMO. Yale has better academics, even in finance and economics, and a much more vibrant social scene. Also, downtown New Haven is the center of college student life for all of Connecticut (and Yale isn’t even the largest school in New Haven, Southern CT State University is) – it is a much better college town than the inner-city urban area around Penn.</p>
<p>Better academics in finance. Are you nuts. No other school beats wharton in finance. And penn is the party and social ivy. No ivy beats penn in social atmosphere.</p>
<p>I think Wharton is the best choice for business. But the poster chose Yale. Congrats and good luck in your studies.</p>