<p>payscale.com has data on the earnings potential of schools and majors (as indicated by self-reported earnings of alumni with terminal Bachelor’s degrees). Here are median starting and mid-career salaries, first for majors then for schools, related to the OP’s choices:</p>
<p>Major/Degree … Median Starting Salary … Median Mid-career Salary<a href=“by%20major”>/u</a></p>
<p>Economics … $50,200 … $101,000
Finance … $48,500 … $89,400
Marketing … $41,500 … $81,500
Accounting … $46,500 … $77,600
Philosophy* … $40,000 … $76,700
Business Adminstration … $42,900 … $73,000
Business Management … $43,300 … $72,100
Hotel Business Management … $37,400 … $66,400</p>
<p>(* Philosophy is included as a representative of liberal arts majors)</p>
<p>Major/Degree … Median Starting Salary … Median Mid-career Salary<a href=“by%20school”>/u</a></p>
<p>*Dartmouth <em> … $58,200 … $129,000
Penn … $60,400 … $118,800
Cornell … $58,000 … $106,000
Bowdoin … $52,700 … $106,000
UVa … $52,200 … $97,200
WUSTL … $51,500 … $90,400
*Black Hills State University </em> … $34,300 … $42,200</p>
<p>(** Dartmouth and Black Hills have the highest and lowest numbers, respectively, in the payscale lists. They are included for comparison.)</p>
<p>You have to understand that these are medians. So, the “Hotel Business Management” numbers may or may not represent Cornell’s program very well. The WUSTL medians may be affected by the lower cost of living averages in Midwestern compared to Eastern states.</p>
<p>What does any of this mean for the OP? Putting it all together (this data, everyone’s advice so far, and the OP’s situation), I recommend:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Drop Cornell-Hotel. Unless you are clearly committed to a career managing hotels, it is too narrowly tied to a specific industry. Even if you succeed in that field, it does not seem to have especially high earning potential compared to some other fields. If you are skeptical about the payscale data, take it to Cornell admissions and see what they have to say. Maybe they have clear evidence that Cornell-Hotel far out-performs the competition.</p></li>
<li><p>Ask Penn-Wharton to increase your aid offer. Ask your Guidance Counselor to show them what Cornell and WUSTL are offering. This assumes (a) you might be interested in finance and other training at Penn-Wharton, which probably has the highest earnings potential of any program you’re considering, and (b) that earnings potential is a big factor in your decision. </p></li>
<li><p>If Penn-Wharton won’t significantly increase their offer, choose WUSTL-Olin. Major in some business concentration but take plenty of economics and other liberal arts courses to develop your analytic and communication skills.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Keep in mind, a Philosophy major at Bowdoin might wind up earning more (not to mention, living a more satisfying life) than a business-related major at Penn. So much depends on your interests and efforts. But in my opinion, a significant cost advantage (at WUSTL or another school that matches the offer) should weigh heavily in the decision.</p>