Now What: Harvard or Wharton?
Oh my goodness, I'm so sorry for posting about deciding on where to go for college, but....I was admitted off the Harvard waitlist with the condition that I can attend for the class of 2021 (i.e., I'd have to take a gap year). I had already been planning on going to Wharton for the class of 2020 because, well, I was admitted and Wharton is Wharton (such a sound argument, right?). Anyways, I'd love to hear your thoughts on the pros and cons of one school over the other, the different personalities and social/academic environments at each one, and anything else you deem important.
As a side note, I plan on the following sequence: IB, grad school, PE, and then I'm not sure (maybe, I'll stay in PE if I thoroughly enjoy it; otherwise, I'd consider entrepreneurship).
I have until June 24th to make my decision!
To my knowledge, people who get admitted to Harvard College with the condition that they defer for a year are very borderline legacy admits. This even has a name (it's called the "Z-list"). So, this begs the question: Did one of your parents attend Harvard College? (grad school does not count)
If the answer is "yes," then this is a non-question and you are just trolling/humble-bragging. If neither of your parents (or grandparents) attended Harvard College (you are not a legacy), then I am sorely mistaken and I will take your question more seriously.
Side note: One of my classmates at Harvard College had an older sister was admitted from the Z-list. She was dumb as a brick. Studied some bull shit humanities major without honors and got engaged in college and is now pregnant/full-time Mom. Has never held down a full-time job and has no intention of doing so. She chose Harvard for the brand name and the prestige, but she struggled and would have been a lot happier at a state school that revolves around football games and beer.
Sorry if the first few words/lines of my explanation seemed a little immature or suggested I was trolling. But to respond to your question, neither of my parents attended Harvard undergrad or grad. In fact, my parents did not even study in the U.S. That said, I'd really appreciate your response and anyone else's. Thanks!
I think this is a tough one - especially because you are leaning towards finance and can graduate a year earlier (I am assuming this because you are on Wall Street Oasis). The general rule I think is that you do not turn down Harvard. However, this is a case where if you do it would not be considered a stupid decision by any means. I guess chose based on where you think you'd enjoy your college experience more based on the culture and whether you want a more broad liberal arts education or a focused professional one.
It really depends on how much in a hurry you are to graduate. If you feel like you want to travel around the world for a year (and can afford it) or do some kind of social year somewhere in Latin America or Europe or so to learn a new language, this could be a great opportunity. You can always enroll at a university somewhere in Europe and transfer credit. I don't know the guidelines on this, but I heard the American University in Paris is fun.
I think the signs are pointing me in the direction of Wharton. I don't have the money to take a year off and develop the cosmopolitan in me as much as I'd like to: my family is lower to middle middle-class. The only things I could do during my time off are work, relax, and maybe enroll in some random/insignificant program (I feel as though all the good ones are gone or are too expensive for my family). Harvard, also, at least to me, seems to be replete with stuck-up fuckers who have been jaded by the amount of money they have–at least this is what I've noticed from the 5 or so kids who decided to go to Harvard from my high school. I guess Harvard and I will meet again (hopefully) when I apply to HBS down the road.
Feel free to challenge my following arguments against Harvard: 1. stuck up/jaded people 2. would lose my academic rhythm/get lazy during the gap year 3. I wouldn't do much during my gap year besides work 4. irritates me that only ~40% of classes at Harvard's undergrad level are taught by professors. Like, lol, am I paying for a professor to teach me or some random grad student? 5. I'm almost 100% sure I want venture into business/finance/econ. If my mind changed at all, the only other interest I have is law/polisci. I guess I'm pretty much set on the whole "pre-professional" route, so Penn/Wharton would make more sense in that regard, right? 6. Grade inflation would actually hurt me when applying to high-status/level jobs such as those on the Street
Not sure I'd bash Harvard students as much, because I've met plenty who are nice, bright people who were down to earth. For sure there's also the type you described but I wouldn't over generalize.
As for only working in your gap year, the counter argument would be that someone who has completed meaningful internships (shouldn't be that hard to get if you offer to work for free or for small pay) you can easily leverage that up to position yourself for recruiting down the road.
Getting lazy is Sth you need to take care of, an economics degree isn't that bad, i don't know if just so few profs are teaching and ease inflation is the last thing you should worry about.
grade inflation will definitely not hurt you when you're applying for jobs
Both schools will give you similar opportunities. If you can't take a year off, this is an easy decision. Go to Wharton.
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