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Chicago vs Wharton

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Chicago vs Wharton [#permalink] New post   07 Mar 2008, 14:46
There might be a slight chance that I have to choose between these 2 schools. So I've listed what the main points of each school are in my eyes.

Wharton:

Brand: best in finance (whether it's justified or not)
Large classes (I think) => increased networking chances
Close student network

Chicago:

City
Academics (better than Wharton in my eyes, which is also the opinion of 2 finance professors I know)
Work rate less intense => more time for networking and extra-curricular stuff

Which school would you choose? Are there strong or weak points I have missed? I'm curious to have to input.
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Re: Chicago vs Wharton [#permalink] New post   07 Mar 2008, 16:39
Wharton tops the list if finance, marketing or consulting is what you're after.
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Re: Chicago vs Wharton [#permalink] New post   07 Mar 2008, 17:32
xerox wrote:
Wharton tops the list if finance, marketing or consulting is what you're after.


Kellogg is the top marketing school. Wharton and Chicago are very close in finance, if you are planning on working in Chicago afterwards then GSB has the advantage but everywhere else wharton probably has the advantage.

As for class size, Chicago is a larger school. While its not as large as Wharton, it and Kellogg are about the same size and are only smaller than Wharton and HBS. I dont think that GSB is going to be less work than Wharton, especially if you are taking any of the advanced finance classes. Both have reputations of being very academically challenging. Personally I agree that Chicago is better than Philly but thats just my opinion...not sure if Wharton is similar to GSB where students live all over the city and not in one real defined area but that could be something that you should look at.

If I wanted finance I would probably go with Wharton, slightly better brand and I would be prefer to work on the east coast over chicago because thats where my family is. A scholarship would easily send me to GSB. Basically if you have to make the decision you cant go wrong, go to admitted student weekends and see which you prefer, both will give you amazing opportunities and world class educations.
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Re: Chicago vs Wharton [#permalink] New post   07 Mar 2008, 18:49
Chicago of course.

Lots of reasons.
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Re: Chicago vs Wharton [#permalink] New post   07 Mar 2008, 23:22
rhyme wrote:
Chicago of course.

Lots of reasons.


Slightly biased there, eh? :wink:
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Re: Chicago vs Wharton [#permalink] New post   07 Mar 2008, 23:30
riverripper wrote:
Kellogg is the top marketing school.


Chicago vs Wharton
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Re: Chicago vs Wharton [#permalink] New post   07 Mar 2008, 23:56
xerox, I think river was correcting your statement that "Wharton tops the list if ... marketing ... is what you're after". Maybe you meant "the list" as Wharton and Chicago, but I think others can interpret it as "Wharton is the best marketing school" :)
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Re: Chicago vs Wharton [#permalink] New post   08 Mar 2008, 00:16
Subject: Chicago vs Wharton

Audio wrote:
There might be a slight chance that I have to choose between these 2 schools. So I've listed what the main points of each school are in my eyes.

Wharton:
Close student network

Chicago:

City
Academics (better than Wharton in my eyes, which is also the opinion of 2 finance professors I know)
Work rate less intense => more time for networking and extra-curricular stuff


Well my friend I chose already GSB in this case. I don't think that the Wharton brand would be enough for me to live in Philadelphia (after today rhyme knows a better word for Philly right? :wink: ).

You can't go wrong with neither of them, the 2 most finance heavy schools in this planet (LBS comes right after).

IMHO, your choice depends on what you want. I decided not to even apply to Wharton after my GSB admission, because I think that in 2 years of my life I want to live in a great city, and now I'm SURE that Chicago is a great city. I know that it may be controversial, but almost all people I talked to told me that Philly kind of sucks. If you don't care about it or you like Philly it's another history.

I'd recommend you to go to both ad weekends, see the cities if you don't know them, and let your guts tell you what to do, as a business man, you will have to rely on your guts in many ocasions, so why not to start practicing right now :wink:?

BTW, I'm really confortable with my avatar...
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Re: Chicago vs Wharton [#permalink] New post   08 Mar 2008, 01:23
kwam wrote:
BTW, I'm really confortable with my avatar...

So it's GSB > Sloan for you? Rhyme has managed to cleanse you of your demons eh?!? ;-)
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Re: Chicago vs Wharton [#permalink] New post   08 Mar 2008, 01:45
Thanks for everybody's input.

I would just like to come back to a point: how "time-consuming" each school is.

I believe that both schools can be very challenging if you want them to be challenging. However, I heard that the workload in Wharton can be very heavy, leaving little time for other activities, in comparison with Chicago.

I just wanted to have your opinion about this issue.

I'm not looking for a walk in the park if I go to an MBA school - I actually do want to learn something :) - but I also don't want to work 70h a week for the MBA. Am I dreaming? And how do the schools compare to each other on that aspect?
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Re: Chicago vs Wharton [#permalink] New post   Updated on: 08 Mar 2008, 22:16
I believe that the social life can be cut in both Wharton and Chicago. The schools have heavy academics and agressive/competitive recruiting. However, if you manage these two major things, people say that both in Phily and Chicago you can actually have a party almost every day. Phily might have a privilege over Chicago in that it has an easier access to NY and Washington (you can get to NY in just 1,5 hours and have a fun there. You may actually live in NY on weekends :) ).

Originally posted by nick_sun on 08 Mar 2008, 02:37.
Last edited by nick_sun on 08 Mar 2008, 22:16, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Chicago vs Wharton [#permalink] New post   08 Mar 2008, 11:07
I have some good comments on this stuff, but im very hungover at the moment, so I'll try to come back later when my eyes dont feel like they are being squished.
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Re: Chicago vs Wharton [#permalink] New post   08 Mar 2008, 11:27
I think Wharton is also has a GND policy- the students have to vote on it every year but it does get by with about 99.9% of the students voting for a GND.


nick_sun wrote:
I believe that the social life can be cut in both Wharton and Chicago. The schools have heavy academics and agressive/competitive recruiting (the difference could be that Chicago is a grade non-disclosure, when Wharton is a grade-disclosure program => Wharton can be a little bit more stressful experience). However, if you manage these two major things, people say that both in Phily and Chicago you can actually have a party almost every day. Phily might have a privilege over Chicago in that it has an easier access to NY and Washington (you can get to NY in just 1,5 hours and have a fun there. You may actually live in NY on weekends :) ).
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Re: Chicago vs Wharton [#permalink] New post   08 Mar 2008, 12:43
dosa_don wrote:
I think Wharton is also has a GND policy- the students have to vote on it every year but it does get by with about 99.9% of the students voting for a GND.


nick_sun wrote:
I believe that the social life can be cut in both Wharton and Chicago. The schools have heavy academics and agressive/competitive recruiting (the difference could be that Chicago is a grade non-disclosure, when Wharton is a grade-disclosure program => Wharton can be a little bit more stressful experience). However, if you manage these two major things, people say that both in Phily and Chicago you can actually have a party almost every day. Phily might have a privilege over Chicago in that it has an easier access to NY and Washington (you can get to NY in just 1,5 hours and have a fun there. You may actually live in NY on weekends :) ).


If I recall correctly, wharton's GND was taken away by the administration and then added back by the student body on their own terms... i might be wrong.
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Re: Chicago vs Wharton [#permalink] New post   08 Mar 2008, 12:50
I met a friend at Chicago GSB who had picked GSB over wharton. Her logic was :
- There is almost no difference between Chicago and Wharton in terms of rep in finance
- Her husband would not have to move to Philly and find another job
- She got a scholarship at GSB
- she felt that larger class size = Less of a community

bottom line - GSB catered for her personal circumstances better. I think you should think along those lines too.

ps. Its a myth that Chicago caters better for mid-west and not so well for East Coast. I met plenty of students with offers in NYC both for internships and for permanent roles at GSB. It is also a myth that work rate is less intense than Wharton.
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Re: Chicago vs Wharton [#permalink] New post   08 Mar 2008, 14:32
I have checked it. The information on GND is ambiguous... On the one hand, there are the documents confirming GND -

https://media.www.whartonjournal.com/med ... 7915.shtml

and

https://media.www.whartonjournal.com/med ... 6926.shtml

Please note, here is also a loophole -

Quote:
A student, and only a student, has the individual right to decide whether or not to disclose his or her academic performance. We as a student body choose grade non-disclosure as a collective norm, and ask that students abide by the majority will of their peers and respect the spirit of the Wharton experience. Potential employers are requested to respect each individual student's choice.


On the other hand, the Wharton GD policy says -

Quote:
WHARTON GRADE DISCLOSURE POLICY
The Wharton School policy on grade disclosure states:

“Wharton students are free to disclose any aspect of their own academic transcripts to prospective employers or any other interested parties, and are encouraged to do so. Such disclosure is a legal right and it is Wharton policy to protect this right. Prospective employers are free to request from students any aspect of their academic transcripts.”


(https://www.wharton.upenn.edu/mbaresourc ... disclosure)
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Re: Chicago vs Wharton [#permalink] New post   08 Mar 2008, 19:07
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My 2 cents on this:

Both Chicago and Wharton are equally great schools in terms of academics and reputation. Wharton may have an edge in terms of reputation in Asia but in the US and Europe, i believe both Chicago and Wharton are at par.

Having visited both schools, the differences i could "Sense" are:
1. Wharton, despite a larger class size has a closer knit student community than Chicago because of the fact that most students live in the same area
2. Chicago seemed more polished and friendlier than Wharton
3. Chicago students seemed to take more pride in their school than Wharton students
4. Chicago administration is doing a better job at keeping the alumni and students together and engaged with the school. reflected in broken emails and contact details of alumni at Wharton. nothing of that sort with Chicago
5. In terms of faculty, Chicago seems to have almost as good if not better, a faulty as Wharton

If i were fortunate enough to choose, it would be a very tough choice and probably scholarship if any, could play a major role in my choice.
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Re: Chicago vs Wharton [#permalink] New post   08 Mar 2008, 19:49
pandeyrav wrote:
My 2 cents on this:
5. In terms of faculty, Chicago seems to have almost as good if not better, a faculty as Wharton


Wow, that could be the most ambiguous statement I have ever seen.
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Re: Chicago vs Wharton [#permalink] New post   08 Mar 2008, 19:50
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good points Pandey. My 2 additional cents:

1. Wharton (and almost all the top schools) has the cohort structure which seems to develop some level of "bonding". Chicago does not.
2. All the top schools have a lot of international students but I truly feel Wharton is a notch above. Almost 40% international students and 6% Permanent residents. So almost half your class is international, which is pretty impressive.
3. Chicago has the "flexible" curriculum, which though is not really 100% flexibile, is definitely better than other schools.
4. Chicago is definitely the school with the momentum.
5. Wharton students seemed more competitive than the students at Chicago- they were even willing to accept this fact in the student lunches.
6. I have not done a lot of research in ALL functional areas/industries but Wharton seems to place slightly better in PE and some of the more competitive industries.
7. Both schools have the cool exchange programs- Whartons especially with INSEAD.


pandeyrav wrote:
My 2 cents on this:

Both Chicago and Wharton are equally great schools in terms of academics and reputation. Wharton may have an edge in terms of reputation in Asia but in the US and Europe, i believe both Chicago and Wharton are at par.

Having visited both schools, the differences i could "Sense" are:
1. Wharton, despite a larger class size has a closer knit student community than Chicago because of the fact that most students live in the same area
2. Chicago seemed more polished and friendlier than Wharton
3. Chicago students seemed to take more pride in their school than Wharton students
4. Chicago administration is doing a better job at keeping the alumni and students together and engaged with the school. reflected in broken emails and contact details of alumni at Wharton. nothing of that sort with Chicago
5. In terms of faculty, Chicago seems to have almost as good if not better, a faulty as Wharton

If i were fortunate enough to choose, it would be a very tough choice and probably scholarship if any, could play a major role in my choice.
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Re: Chicago vs Wharton [#permalink] New post   08 Mar 2008, 22:01
Wharton is a GND program. The current student has just clarified :) So there is no difference in academic rigor of Chicago or Wharton (amended my previous post).
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Re: Chicago vs Wharton [#permalink]
08 Mar 2008, 22:01
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