Huntsman vs Princeton

Keasbey_Nights
Tue, 20 Mar 2012 00:22:43 +0000

Penn’s dual degree programs are gimmicks that they have to employ to try to get top students away from Harvard/Yale/Princeton without actually giving them any additional resources except two degrees (but why would anyone want two bachelor’s degrees lol, that’s like having two driver’s licenses in my opinion).



This is utterly untrue. Here are some of the advantages that the Penn coordinated dual-degree programs give (and this is in no particular order):


An incredible group of alums, much stronger than the alums you’d get from joining a fraternity. A Penn dual-degree student can cold-email any alum of their program and get a friendly response. We get constant internship opportunities through email.
Essentially guaranteed access to the courses you want to take. Dual-degree students get priority for honors sections of Wharton courses, for example. It’s much easier for a dual-degree student to get into a closed section than it is for a single-degree student.
OCR / info sessions specifically for each dual-degree program.
Small (think 5 to 10 person) lunch discussions with famous alums.


I could go on and on. Now, as for why someone would want to get two bachelor’s degrees? They have a strong interest in two specific fields. Isn’t that obvious! It’s more like getting your driver’s license and your pilot’s license.

In summary, Penn dual-degree programs are not “gimmicks…to try to get top students away from [HYP].” They are for students who, at the age of 18, know what they want to pursue. This says nothing about the desires to learn or intrinsic motivation of dual-degree students. Almost every dual degreer I know is truly passionate about learning. I find that many M&Ts read their textbooks simply to learn more about whatever subject they’re taking, for example. There is much to be learned, and an M&T student can broaden his or her horizons as easy as a student at any other top university.

If you don’t find Penn’s dual-degree programs to fit your learning needs, don’t go, but don’t spit mistruths about the programs.



If Huntsman is so prestigious and awesome…how come it isn’t ranked in Foreign Policy Magazine’s rankings?



Huntsman is international studies and business, not international relations and business.