<p>Hi everyone,</p>
<p>I’m having a chance to go for an exchange semester at UPenn, and am wondering what the benefits of being an exchange student at an Ivy League school are. Is it merely a badge of honor that you can be internally proud of, or it can give you some actual concrete advantages later when you apply to grad school or jobs?</p>
<p>No benefit.</p>
<p>It depends who you are and how you use/leverage it. One important benefit that comes to mind is that it would give a junior hoping to break into PE/hedge fund/investment banking/consulting access strong recruiting. Before the exchange, the resume you submitted online would most likely simply get ignored. However, you would get a fair shot through UPenn or any Ivies’ recruiting programs.
For science students, benefits are much harder to find.</p>
<p>^ I’m not sure visiting students have access to the same career facilities and recruitment opportunities as do the regular students. Certainly hasn’t been the case at the schools I’ve taught at. But maybe you mean something else.</p>
<p>^ When I was a visiting student to another school from an Ivy, I certainly access to everything, including the best, and only, dorm on campus. I agree that OP should find out before making any decisions.</p>
<p>^ Dorms yes, of course. Career center, different story.</p>
<p>^^^^</p>
<p>I really don’t see what the career center would do for you, even if you had access to it. You certainly aren’t getting any IB or consulting jobs from it…</p>
<p>starbright - I know that my school did give exchange students access to everything. I had access to everything at the school I exchanged at as well. Maybe it’s because I exchanged at an European school. I had friends who used the career service to get internships in London. Perhaps UPenn is different.</p>
<p>“You certainly aren’t getting any IB or consulting jobs from it…”</p>
<p>adam0302 - Your first post of a definite “no benefit” shows that you are just guessing. This shows that you are guessing again. Career center can’t do anything for you, but getting access to the online recruiting network certainly helps. For instance, if you attend a non-target, submitting your resume for a BAML investment banking internship would almost certainly get ignored. Submitting it through UPenn’s career board would at least enable it to get a glance from the recruiter. If you come from a decent school with relevant previous internship and course work, the recruiter might actually give you an interview. This is what a friend who exchanged at my school did, and he got an investment banking internship at a BB and ended up with a FT too. Though this is anecdotal evidence and may be extreme, it’s possible, and that’s why I said it depends on who the person is and how he/she use the opportunity.</p>
<p>Thanks everyone, especially IvyPBear, for your inputs. I asked the question originally because I am now torn between the two exchange school choices: UPenn and Sciences Po in Paris. Living in Paris has always been one of my life goals, but the chance to study at an Ivy League school also seems too good to pass, so I was just wondering if attending UPenn as an exchange student is really worth it. Would it make a difference in my graduate school application if my grades during the semester at UPenn are decent?</p>
<p>If this is the choice that you are facing, I would recommend going abroad for the exchange. Exchanging abroad at any school would be a great experience, making it the better choice especially considering the fact that it’s unclear whether doing a term at UPenn would have any impact on grad school admissions.</p>