If you want to have CAS students be your cohort, go to CAS. You don’t have to know only people from your program, but IRL if you are in Wharton that is mostly who you will know. Are Harvard and Wharton your only 2 (realistic) choices?
Mental health resources aren’t any better/worse at UPenn (or lots of other schools for that matter).
aahahahahaahahaa. Not a thing. You will only intern in DC during the summer, so proximity is not an issue. 100% Harvard is as “connected” with DC as Wharton, and will get you at least as many opps. Just look at the Harvard links in the leadership of pretty much every major think tank / policy group. There are people who say that you could get just as good an education in lots of other schools, but what your Harvard degree really gets you is connections.
IMO (since you are asking), Wharton really suits people who have a strong idea of the kind of (business) career they want, whereas Harvard better suits very ambitious students who are not necessarily as narrowly focused at this point.