Transfer from UChicago Econ to Wharton Finance

Odds of transferring in are so low.. just enjoy the opportunities at UChicago

Went to W, dont know exact figure for acceptance rate for external transfers but around 3-5%. There were 7 in total last year. Some varsity athletes, all excellent academics/extracurriculars first year college and HS, good recommendations, and some relevant work experience. Its possible, but you also need to have a good reason, especially coming from UChicago as an econ major which is already pretty strong. Also, you almost always need to transfer in after your freshman year. I dont think its worth it.

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Recent UChi grad at (GS/MS/JPM), cant think of any mainstream oppty that's available to Wharton grads that isn't available to UChi grads (ie, anything other than some ultra elitre buyside roles, which let's be real - the chances of getting those are unbelievably low even at Wharton)

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i don't think it's necessary

Might as well submit the app. Think about the worth/not-worth after

UChicago student heading to an EB (LAZ, EVR, MOE). Will reiterate that UChicago provides plenty of great opportunities (OCR, networking events, Trott Business Program, Dougan Scholars, and finance treks to name a few) to break into banking, and has a strong alumni network at most of the top BBs, MMs, and EBs. If you network hard enough, have some relevant experience, and a decent GPA, you shouldn’t have a problem.

I'm going to give a dissenting opinion here- this is not worth your time.

First off, if your sibling is currently a UChicago econ student, that implies that they are a rising second year. If so, that would make your sibling ineligible to transfer to Wharton, since Wharton only takes transfer students immediately after their freshman year.

If your sibling is about to be a first year, transferring is possible, but still not likely. They'd have to make sure to take both Micro and Macro in the coming year order to meet class requirements, and they'd have to have a really good reason why they want to transfer.

I'm a current UChicago student, and if I'm being honest, a lot of kids (myself included) try to transfer out- especially early on when you are adjusting to being here. UChicago can be a really harsh and depressing academic environment, and combined with the fact that there aren't always a ton of opportunities to have fun, a lot of people just end up feeling like they got the short end of the stick relative to other top schools they could have attended. The idea that the grass is greener on the other side is a very popularized notion here, to such an extent that I think it detracts from students' ability to be happy about their choice to attend.

Unfortunately, however, UChicago students applying to transfer are usually at a disadvantage, and here is why; other top schools are looking to take transfer students who have a genuine, academic NEED to transfer. You were brilliant in high school but couldn't afford to go to a 4-year university, so went to community college? You went to school for engineering but now want to be a Classics major, which your school doesn't offer? Exactly the type of student Ivies and other top schools are looking to accept as transfers. You go to a comparably good school where you already have fantastic opportunities and are just trying to trade up or go somewhere you might like better? Super unlikely this gets you anywhere.

Your sibling can certainly try and see, but as someone who desperately wanted to transfer out, the most valuable advice I can give is this; take the energy that you would have spent trying to transfer, and instead lean into all of the incredible opportunities UChicago provides. Sure, Econ isn't the same thing as Finance and the program is traditionally academia-focused, but this school is truly a very strong target, and if your sibling works for it, they will have no trouble getting lots of great offers in banking.

It's one thing if you are certain you just really want to study finance or absolutely hate UChicago, but I want to add that I find the notion that you should transfer to Wharton for the marginal benefit in finance alumni network or IB placement strength to be a dangerous one, because it entirely ignores the fact that once you tick the "target school" box, what usually matters more is the work that you individually put in to get the offer. Being a Wharton student doesn't entitle you to an offer any more than being a UChicago, Princeton, Columbia, Duke, etc student does. If I could go back to my freshman year and change my attitude, I'd focus on what I can control and try my best to enjoy and appreciate all that this institution has to offer.

Bump- interested to hear more thoughts on this

Waste of time.

Also means you can go to W for MBA.

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I have no connection to UChicago, but I was incredibly impressed at how well represented it is. I interviewed at BBs and EBs on the West Coast and East Coast, as well as some of the niche industry-focused banks like Raine in NY, and always ran into at least one UChicago kid at my superdays. 

Some great posts here. FWIW, my intern class at a BB (GS/MS) had pretty much equal kids from Chicago and Wharton (maybe 2-3 more Wharton’s). Considering the army of Wharton grads who want to work in IB compared to a relatively small cohort at Chicago, its clear that both are top targets and that you might actually be making it harder for yourself by transferring .

interested 

Uchi 

Really really don't understand why you'd want to trade UChicago to Penn....I know tons of people who would go the other way around. Recruiting is actually very similar but Wharton culture is basically throwing your college experience into the toilet