<p>It seems you have two excellent choices. My own kid chose Vandy over Penn mainly for money (merit) reasons, but in hindsight, we can say that it has been a highly nurturing environment where he has been involved in cutting-edge research, has close relationships with professors (think grad recommendations here), and is in grad classes as a junior. Also, graduating w/o debt will allow for more choices at the grad level. Ultimately, while certain degrees open doors, your own work/research/rainmaking will win out. (See notables in various fields and you’ll be surprised by some of the alma maters.) Congrats on two exciting choices!</p>