Wharton vs Haas

bb Wharton FT MBA allows the option to do one semester in their SF campus, primarily to help students network and build a footprint in the Valley.

Congratulations on your fantastic admits! I must say that by now, I've seen a lot of people finding themselves confused between Haas and one or more non-HSW M7, but rarely have come across someone not being able to decide between Haas and HSW. I think it speaks highly of how much above its weight Haas punches and its actual brand value vs. the rankings.

PE/VC roles are few and far apart and would be so even at Wharton; with your background in software development (even though at a financial services firm), I'm not sure how competitive that will make you for those roles (sincerely mean no offense) . Now that that's out of the way...

Haas is the place to go if you are placing more emphasis on landing in a PM/Strategy role, looking at tech companies and hypergrowth-stage startups beyond FAANG, and want to be on the West Coast. (Wharton can do all this on paper, but at this point, I'm assuming that's a given, and we are evaluating for an option that provides better odds.)

For your long-term goal of building a startup in your home country, the popular advice you might get would be to go with Wharton because of the better brand and global prestige that could make it easier for you to attract partners, investors, and talent, and the larger alumni base that could open more doors.

However, a startup is only as good as the idea (which is only as good as the problem it solves). The great thing about entrepreneurship is that it isn't as elitist an occupation as consulting, PE/VC, etc. and anyone with a sensible head on their shoulders and a great idea can do it (and yet 7-8 out of 10 startups fail in the first year, which tells you something about people )

For entrepreneurial pursuits, Wharton offers a lot of good resources. But, Haas is KNOWN FOR tech and entrepreneurship, and the Bay Area startup ecosystem can't be beat, particularly by anything in Philly (even with the SF semester, which btw a LOT of people want to do and seats are limited). Besides Haas, the Berkeley Comp Science is one of the top programs globally, and there are ample opportunities for Haas students to work with entrepreneurs from Berkeley and the Bay Area. Not to mention that you'd have a better shot of landing a PM gig at a hypergrowth startup. Through all these experiences and resources, you would hopefully come across many good (and bad) tech entrepreneurs and ideas. The learnings from all those encounters combined may better shape your entrepreneurial thinking and idea and influence the success of your startup. Not to mention that Berkeley is a pretty strong brand in Europe and Asia if that's where you're from, so I feel the Wharton advantage would be marginal here.

Giving up Wharton + some scholarship may sound crazy, but I think both in terms of your goals and fit, Haas seems to be the better option. Good luck with your decision, and I hope to see you in Berkeley in the Fall!

Hi OP,

First off, congrats on your amazing acceptances (and getting $ to boot)! I'll offer my thoughts on Wharton in particular (I'm a 2Y), but note my bias.

To start, I didn't apply to Haas, but have two great friends there who are current students and absolutely love it. From my high-level view, Haas is known as a very entrepreneurial, small, and tight-knit program. It definitely punches heavily in the startup and tech space, especially in being in the Bay. If you heart settles on Haas, grab it, run with it, and don't look back at the people who said "wait, but you turned down Wharton??". You make the decisions in your life, and Haas is an amazing opportunity.

Now, for my thoughts on Wharton for your categories.

Short-term goal (Tech/startup PM and PE/VC)
- Wharton has great resources in tech and obviously PE/VC
- I've posted this a number of times before, but most major tech companies hire Wharton MBAs, the following hired multiple students from the class of '2020: Alpine Investors, Amazon, Apple, Activision, Doordash, Facebook, Google, IBM, LinkedIn, Microsoft, Paypal, Redpoint Ventures, Spotify, TikTok, etc.
- For tech, Wharton has a number of resources I would look into, including the Tech Club (and trek) and Wharton's Semester in San Francisco at our SF campus
- For Entrepreneurship, I'd look into the new Tangen Hall (which is a new building this coming year with startup incubators, test kitchens, VR equipment, etc.), Pennovation Lab, and the Entrepreneurship major
- For PE/VC, I'd look into PE/VC Club as well as term-time internships at companies like Pear VC (I know a few students doing such internships to break into VC)

Long-term goal:
You want to start a company in your home country? That's awesome. I think the above resources can help you explore topics, but it will be up to you to craft the whole journey. What are you looking for out of tech, entrepreneurship, and VC/PE?

Wharton (and I'm sure Haas) can help you with theory (finance and entrepreneurship classes), hard skills (financial modeling resources, startup incubators), career searching (career treks, dedicated career advisors to PE/VC, tech), and networking (conferences, SSF, alumni network and database). You'll have to navigate these for your particular needs and interests.

Quicker Comments on your 'stuck' points.

Brand value / Long-term reputation: I won't comment on Wharton's brand, but I can say Haas is reputable, especially in the Bay area and tech community more broadly

Community: Wharton has a reputation of being a competitive finance bro school, but I've found almost none of that during my experience. Wharton is ~850 people per class (1,700+ total). There are people from all different backgrounds (tech, consulting, finance, startups, PE/VC, retail, real estate, education, military, etc.). There are communities here for everyone. Also, I would say that it is extremely collegial, with grade non-disclosure for employers, and I have seen the opposite of competitive and cut-throat, but rather a very welcoming and supportive environment. Many people get their internships through connections with other classmates!

Recruit into tech/startups: Haas definitely has vicinity to the Bay (besides Wharton SSF), though I'm not sure it places 'better' into tech roles. Class of 2020 employment reports show the same median starting salaries in tech for both schools ($140k) and the same median signing bonus ($35k). Haas has nearly double the proportion going into tech than Wharton (32% vs 16%), though Wharton being a larger program has more overall students going into tech. I would say that tech would be more of an emphasis among Haas students with this, though Wharton would have more alumni in industry.

PE/VC: Totally agree with Variantguy that PE/VC are very hard to break into, even for Wharton. But, you can explore term-time internships at interesting companies, as well as join the PE/VC club, talk with the PE/VC career advisor, and network with Wharton alumni. I would say Wharton has great resources here, but I would find it very likely Haas has great resources for looking at VC too.

Alumni: I often hear from smaller schools that their alumni are more responsive. To be frank, I've not found alumni responsiveness to be an issue. In fact, the Wharton alumni network is very organized (filterable database, active involvement, and global networking events) and responsive in my experience. Over the recent holidays, alumni have actively been reaching out to students in a program to bring us closer together during the COVID-19 crisis. I had an alum who is an MD in Goldman Sachs' Hong Kong office reach out to me unprompted (I'm more of a finance/consulting person, so my interests might be a bit different from yours).

Scholarship: Personally, I don't think money is a big issue in me deciding my MBA experience. I will say, holy crap how did you get money from Wharton? Not an easy feat. Although, Haas I believe is a bit cheaper, especially in-state. So, the money calculation is something you'll have to do on your own. I personally don't put much stock into it.

Location: Can't argue with East Cost vs. West Coast. I've lived in Boston, San Diego, San Francisco, Philadelphia, and soon to be NYC. If you prefer the West Coast, then certainly Haas offers a great spot in Berkeley (vs Wharton's one-semester option in SF).

Hope this helps. Feel free to pm with questions.

Congrats and you got some great input!
I would love to hear from BananaNation or perhaps mcwalcott else at Haas!

I would say being in VC/Startups absolutely helps and you will have to be in the area/valley, though Austin and Miami seem to be pulling people away, chipping away at the Haas advantage.

Also, traditionally (i.e. not during Covid), west coast schools (Haas included) have seen lower on-campus events/recruiting opportunities. That is in part due to the smaller program size so being part of Wharton has its advantages for traditional tracks (you are not very likely to benefit since I can't see many PE/VC or tech startups heading to Wharton, unless we are talking about Uber and Airbnb startups ).

As to Alumni, it is really hard to make a judgment based on isolated feedback. It is based on both sides. If you put in a minute and some thought into a message to an alum, as long as you can reach them, I am sure it will work out. From my own experience, if someone clearly not wasting my time, and gives me options and clearly won't be trying to mooch off, I would be happy to give time and lend a hand. (though I guess I do this on GMAT Club all the time even if they waste my time, so forget it, I am a horrible example). But bottom line I feel alum rating and welcome weekends are the same - they are not consistent indicators. Don't base your decision on the admit weekend or feedback about the alum anecdotes. (Though it is a positive when there are programs to tie in students with alums - I know many schools have started anything from events to mentoring programs).

The culture and perception are very different for these programs and Haas alums generally stick to the west coast (many reasons one of which is that it is tough to imagine moving to the cold of the East coast after the nice weather and lifestyle - nothing to do with Haas). This makes the Haas degree less portable and not as closely international as Wharton but perhaps I am wrong here. I have not dug into the Haas network in a number of years!

Also, relevant topic/link from summer of 2020:
https://gmatclub.com/forum/wharton-vs-haas-316680.html

Posted from my mobile device

Congratulations on three amazing offer sak321!

I'll try to be brief and brutally honest:
1a. Career: PM. Can't really go wrong with any but you'll have so many opportunities at Haas and Berkeley, Haas is heaven for those going into Tech (any role) and Entrepreneurship, plus you can take classes from the legendary Engineering and Information colleges/schools. And location, location, location.
1b. Career: PE/VC. Forget it. Don't waste your time UNLESS: 1) you bring something special that makes a real difference for VCs, some technical expertise rarely found among Silicon Valley venture capitalists; 2) you have prior experience in PE/VC, strategic consulting, or investment banking (but it looks like you don't). From what I heard, at Wharton, it's impossible to break into premier PEs without a pre-MBA stint at PE. PEs hire from Wharton (but need experience), they don't hire from Haas (VCs do though). So, for PE/VC - not impossible but your PM goal is better, spend your efforts there.

2. Prestige/brand: Depends, Wharton is a stronger brand than Haas generally, internationally Wharton is more recognizable, mostly in Europe. However, Berkeley is a far stronger brand internationally, frankly few know Wharton/UPenn or Haas, but a lot of people know Berkeley (especially in Asia).

3. Community - hands down Haas! Have friends Wharton alums - great wealthy school but not close to Haas when it comes to culture and community.

This is my subjective-objective opinion formed from both my personal experience and extensive research I carried out before applying. Hope it's helpful!

It's always been my impression that Haas is possibly the strongest regional MBA in the world by an enormous order of magnitude. So, if you want to live / work on the West Coast, take Haas and don't think twice. However, if you want to go elsewhere, take Wharton. Take a look at the regions into which graduates go to work -- they really don't place anyone east of the Rocky Mountains ... And, that Wharton is giving you some money, it sure seems like a no-brainer to me.

But, if you're still trying to make a decision, there are two links in my signature block below that may be of assistance.

Good luck to you!