Undergraduate: Wharton Huntsman Program or HYP
All:
I have been accepted into the Huntsman Program in International Studies and Business at Wharton at UPenn as well as two of HYP. I need advice on choosing between the two styles of education.
At Huntsman, I can earn an SB in Economics and AB in International Studies. I also plan to complete the submatriculated AM in Mathematics during my four years. I might be interested in an MPhil and PhD in Economics or else business and law school later. With my interest in hedge funds (global macro, quant, and others), I think Huntsman presents an interesting opportunity.
At HYP, I can earn an AB in Economics (or Applied Mathematics or a similar degree). The primary reason I continue to consider my offers there over Huntsman is that I think I am foregoing the prestige of a HYP degree and perhaps a better network. The argument I often read for HYP over Wharton (albeit with Huntsman) is that I am choosing vocational or pre-professional education over classical liberal arts education.
Can you monkeys please provide your choice given my context and interest in hedge funds? I am not too worried about financial aid seeing as I can cover my debt within a few years of employment.
Thx!
Can't beat the big H. I'd choose Harvard.
It is the "HYP-or-bust" logic that is holding me from choosing Huntsman. I feel that I can learn more than interests me there but do not want to forego to lay prestige of HYP.
You can't really go wrong, visit all of them and pick wherever has the best feel. With that being said if you're purely going for prestige, Harvard or Princeton. Harvard is Harvard no matter what and Princeton is probably the best pure undergrad education.
Same opinion on you can't go wrong really. You may find it useful to see the breadth of alumni in some of the industries you're looking into - again, will probably be par on each other but can't hurt to check
HYP
The H bomb is a different kind of brand. I'm not known for prestige whoring, but generally, any opportunity to start off or end up at the #1 in anything is one worth taking. It's not as if you NEED to be at one location more than the other in your case-you're clearly super intelligent and would be able to perform in either environment.
If it makes you feel better, there's no objectively wrong decision here - especially given your highly specific career goals, but I'd want the additional bells and whistles that come w/ the H Y P. I also get the impression that were you to choose W, that feeling of giving up the lay prestige would gnaw at you-otherwise you'd have chosen it already without looking back given your goals.
Yup, if you tell most lay people that you chose W (or UPenn in this case) over HYP, then they would say you should have gone to HYP. Also, when someone says they went to HYP and people around you awe (of course, they'll also awe at UPenn), then you will feel weird in the moment (thinking to yourself: "I got into HYP too."). Of course, these are minor things that shouldn't really affect your decision, but just something that I've seen happen to people around me who were in a similar situation.
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Harvard if you got in, otherwise Huntsman
Thx to all that have replied. I am heavily leaning to the Huntsman option. I know that you all say that Wharton is far more pre-professional, and I agree to an extent, but the Huntsman curriculum is quite compelling because it adds an academic edge. In addition, the option to add in the Mathematics really places Huntsman at the top of my list. It seems to me that for HF recruiting (and with all of the HFs with significant Wharton connections—for example, AQR, which is very supportive of academic environments), it is an excellent choice that offers more depth than HYP.
Thx to all for you advice!
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