little.nemo wrote:
But what if when I move up to VP or President (maybe not of Goldman but a smaller one, or a branch or so...), will Wharton network help me better or Chicago do?
At that point your school will not play such a great role. It will be your work product / reputation and your personal network of people you've met in your career and made a good impression on - regardless of what school they went to.
To me, based solely on the issues of networking / career possibilities in finance, its a no brainer going to Chicago (with $60,000) over Wharton. They are just not that different. Heck, dare I say it Chicago may even be better.
However, you bring up some interesting issues in your second paragraph - fit. I love both Chicago and Philadelphia (yes, I admit it). Chicago is much colder, feels bigger, is more beautiful (indeed, it has one of the most beautiful skylines in the world IMHO - each building seems like a famous architectural masterpiece.)
Philadelphia is huge but to me feels smaller. (That is not to say they are nicer. Heck, Philly fans once boo'd Santa Claus.) But you can go like twenty minutes west of UPenn and feel like you are in the countryside. Heck you could even commute from out there.
You have a high class problem. Congrats!