Undergraduate MIT or Wharton

I'm pretty conflicted over which of these two schools I should attend. Ultimately I would like to see myself at a big 3 consulting firm or some prestigious ibanks. Wharton's advantage would obviously be prestige, but MIT has that engineering focus which I think would be helpful as well. Also, I've heard that an undergraduate degree in economics isn't helpful, even from Wharton, compared to a hard science. If I went to MIT I would probably go for some kind of engineering with some business clasees, then try for an mba. Which one is better?

 
jgry:

I'm pretty conflicted over which of these two schools I should attend. Ultimately I would like to see myself at a big 3 consulting firm or some prestigious ibanks. Wharton's advantage would obviously be prestige, but MIT has that engineering focus which I think would be helpful as well. Also, I've heard that an undergraduate degree in economics isn't helpful, even from Wharton, compared to a hard science. If I went to MIT I would probably go for some kind of engineering with some business clasees, then try for an mba. Which one is better?

Double major at Wharton & Penn through Jerome Fisher?

 

I think M&T is a bit too selective. My academic stats are pretty good (2400 SAT, 800 Physics, 800 Math II, really high GPA) but my extracurriculars/leadership roles are kinda weak, aside from being a possible recruited athlete. Also, I heard Penn's engineering department isn't really respected that much, especially compared to MIT.

 
Best Response

Between MIT and Wharton, I think I would choose MIT.

One little-known benefit to MIT is you can cross-register and take classes at Harvard. The process is very simple and straight-forward, however, not very many students from both schools take advantage of it (I think more MIT students take advantage of this arrangement than vice versa, especially in some of the upper-level math classes which are taught by famous or more reputable professors at Harvard, etc.)

Anyways, imagine having an engineering or other hard science degree from MIT and sprinkled it with a couple more qualitative or unusual/interesting classes at Harvard. Not only would you stand out (since very few students take advantage of cross registration to begin with), but I think a lot of recruiters would be inclined to think that you are "smart" (e.g. have good quantitative skills) and also well-rounded (e.g. not just a number-crunching machine, but someone with diverse interests, etc.)

 

Firstly, if all you want to do is put yourself in the best position possible to get an IBD job and then get an MBA, Wharton can certainly do that for you, and objectively is the better choice. Echoing the comment above me, I'll make the case for MIT.

I went to MIT and have done the typical IB->PE path after college (currently a 2nd year PE associate). I majored in engineering and got a minor in econ. Even though I didn't take any finance classes I had a very successful recruiting experience with banking and consulting firms. These firms love hiring engineers because they can generally scale the finance learning curve very quickly and they bring unique perspectives to solving problems. You also have the benefit of additional career options such as industry work, programming for a start-up, or an operations role if you study engineering. Although you may have tunnel vision towards IBD->MBA right now, you're only 18. Who knows what you'll want to do with your life when you're 22. It's never a bad thing to have a few more doors open to you in case you sour on finance.

As someone who's very deeply ingrained in the finance world now, I wouldn't change anything about my college experience. The insanely intelligent and creative people I met at MIT are still my closest friends to this day, much more so than my analyst bullpen bros. There's a lot of Wharton love on this thread, and for good reason, but MIT is an excellent school that will challenge you in so many ways outside the scope of the finance world, which I have found to be hugely rewarding when reflecting back on my time there. Attending MIT was by far the best decision I've made in my life to date.

I may get ripped to shreds for divulging this personal anecdote, but I thought I'd share my $0.02 anyway.

 

I would go where you think you'll fit in better personality wise honestly. Both have top tier chances at high finance.

"It is better to have a friendship based on business, than a business based on friendship." - Rockefeller. "Live fast, die hard. Leave a good looking body." - Navy SEAL
 

MIT. More people outside of business have heard of MIT (in a general sense, I'm in no way insinuating Wharton is in any way unknown). And it doesn't place poorly into banking if that's where you want to go, instead of building death stars.

 

But would I have better placement in Finance graduating from Wharton or MIT?

Alekz:
MIT. More people outside of business have heard of MIT (in a general sense, I'm in no way insinuating Wharton is in any way unknown). And it doesn't place poorly into banking if that's where you want to go, instead of building death stars.
 

I don't know if you are being serious about nuclear physics as you've mentioned it a couple of times, but you have such a completely random list of potential majors/minors that I can't tell.

If you have any real interest in engineering/physics, go with MIT. If you are just trying to sound cool and really want finance, go to Wharton. A technical degree from MIT won't ever hold you back, but if you are 100% gung ho finance, Wharton wins.

 

If you want to be an independent thinker go to MIT. If you want to be really good at learning what has already been done in finance go to Wharton. Its a question of critical thinking (MIT is better) vs mastering the existing financial knowledge base (Wharton is better)

 

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