<p>I’m <em>supposed</em> to be studying for a midterm on Tuesday, so I can’t really write all the I want to write… but I did just want to say that I’m an Econ (Econ/PoliSci, actually) major at Columbia, and the Econ department here is FANTASTIC. I’ve taken several econ classes now, and have loved every single one of them. The faculty is incredible, and they really care about what they’re doing. </p>
<p>With that in mind, though, I’m sure UPenn has an incredible program as well. I do agree with pbr, however - I really don’t like the idea of an undergraduate business program. If you want to work with one of the big financial companies, I would say get an Econ (or Finance if the school you choose has one) degree, work a couple of years, and get an MBA regardless of which undergraduate school you go to. Saying that, may of my peers have just completed the big financial firm internship application process, and I have to say that they didn’t feel like they had a disadvantage at all when applying for internships. I think our numbers are a bit lower than other schools because students at Columbia, in my experience, tend to seek out more obscure, interest-specific internships. Those that wanted internships at big firms, however, seemed like they had a fair chance.</p>
<p>Overall, I think you just need to decide which school you like better - they’ll both equip you well for whatever career you want (which may well not by finance). </p>
<p>Hope to see you at Columbia :-)</p>